‘God’s Own People’ are all smiles

That the Middle East is a Malayali’s second home is like saying Kerala is renowned for its coconut trees. As obvious as it may sound, Kerala Cricket Association secretary TC Matthew couldn’t be more accurate when he said that “huge amounts of Gulf money” will only make the IPL in the state a bigger and better affair.

“See, you must realise that every seventh Malayali is based in the Middle East. All that money will come here in the form of sponsorship,” a thrilled Matthew said after the BCCI gave Kochi the nod to play in IPL 4.

“We’re all smiling,” said Santhosh Kumar, a Dubai-based businessman. “When someone in my family or village succeeds, it makes me happy. Similarly, when my state gets recognition, it makes me joyous,” he added.

Former India and Mumbai pacer Abey Kuruvilla is equally overjoyed. “I am happy for cricketers in Kerala,” said Kuruvilla, who is also chairman of the BCCI’s junior selection committee.
Joseph M Punnoose, a sales manager from Kottayam, is pleased because “every state in south India can now boast of an IPL team”.

“The north Indian lobby did all it could to destroy Kerala’s chances. Even in the past, many good players from here were ignored. All that will change now, hopefully,” Punnoose said, before adding, “Shashi Tharoor’s intentions were good, but he had no business to drag his wife into the mess. Moreover, he should have had the common sense to realise that Keralites are conservative. Here, you don’t normally remarry unless your spouse has expired. He married not once or twice, but thrice! That kind of tarnished his image,” he reasoned.

Former Kerala player S Ramesh reckons KCA’s ‘Mission 2020’ will receive a huge fillip. “We have 15 academies in 14 districts (Idukki district has two) and the IPL will surely help promote the game in our state. We can’t wait for the Twenty20 extravaganza to begin,” Ramesh said.

Dr TF Josekutty, a retired professor of physical education, is relieved Kerala has finally got its due. “This little state has produced the best of athletes. From Usha (PT) to Preeja (Sreedharan), the list is endless. And then we had Vijayan (IM) and Jo Paul (Anchery) in football and Jimmy George in volleyball. We all know why cricketers from our state never got preference,” Josekutty said.

Jacob Maliampurackal, a branch manager with a popular bank, said the IPL will bring with it more tourists. “Kerala is a famous tourist destination and the IPL will only bring more people here. We are all set to get better roads and bridges. Our economy will get a big boost,” he said.

Dubai-based Rajaneesh Das is so excited he is actually planning to visit Kerala in April-May. “From now on, I will plan my vacation depending on the IPL schedule,” he said.

Mumbaikar Sam Joy chose to look at the flip side. “Given that cricket officials and politicians are hand in glove, they had to arrive at a consensus. Sports and politics are inseparable and that’s not good,” he said.