“In short, on Sunday, this ground will be like a fort with armed guards ready for cricket’s big war,” added the cop with a smile
Members of the Rapid Action Force at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday. Pics/Ashwin Ferro
The joke doing the rounds at the Narendra Modi Stadium on the eve of the World Cup final on Saturday was that there are a lot more policemen at the ground than blades of grass on the pitch for the India v Australia summit clash. Security set-ups are no joking matter though and with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to grace the final, the police presence at the ground is expectedly huge. “I cannot give you security details for obvious reasons [since the PM and Home Minister Amit Shah will be in attendance besides numerous other cabinet ministers], but the police personnel here are 5,000-plus, besides members of the RAF [Rapid Action Force] and armed combat-ready elite commandos, who have been specially stationed given the high VIP movement on the final day. This is besides the PM’s security detail that will involve many more officers too,” one of the senior police officials manning the main gate here told mid-day, wishing not to be named. “In short, on Sunday, this ground will be like a fort with armed guards ready for cricket’s big war,” added the cop with a smile.
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Hardik Pandya’s jersey is still a hit
Hardik Pandya jerseys on sale at a pavement outside the stadium on Saturday
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Injured India all-rounder Hardik Pandya ceased to be a part of this World Cup after rolling his ankle over during the match against Bangladesh, but he continues to be hot property at least for the street vendors selling non-branded cricket merchandise on the pavement outside the Narendra Modi Stadium. On Saturday, a lot of vendors were seen selling India jerseys sporting Hardik’s name at the back and they were going like hot cakes alongside shirts carrying the names of skipper Rohit Sharma and batting star Virat Kohli. “Pandya is from our state of Gujarat and is an inspiration to many youngsters here given his humble beginnings. Our youth aspire to be like him and that’s the reason we did not stop selling his jersey even though he got injured in the middle of the World Cup, and you can see why,” one vendor told mid-day in the middle of a deal, where he was offering a couple of youngsters two Hardik jerseys for R500 flat (a discount of R50 on each).
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