Parveen Negi
2.8K posts
@ParveenPhoto
Photojournalist with @NewIndianXpress. Ex @IndiaToday. Covering Current Affairs and Crime. My Views and Tweets are personal.
A couple of days before the T20 World Cup opener between Pakistan and the Netherlands at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Stadium in Colombo on Saturday, Sri Lanka Cricket announced free entry for the public from 9:30AM on the match day. Entry to two grass embankments was made free and the SLC said the move was made only for the first match and it will encourage the public to come to stands and watch their favourite stars in action. It is not restricted to Sri Lanka alone. Initial indications are not very rosy. For non-India matches, especially for associate nations like Nepal, Scotland, the turnout is expected to minimal. Local associations are apparently distributing tickets to school and academy students. The SLC is already bearing the brunt of Pakistan's government decision wherein it said that their team will not play the match against India scheduled on February 15 in Colombo. The no-show by the Pakistan team will cause a huge financial loss to Sri Lanka not only in cricketing context but also their economy as the tourism and hotel industry are expected to take a big hit. @scribefiroz237 🔗newindianexpress.com/sport/cricket/… @indraneel0
