Fifty boys and girls, all dressed in cricket flannels, stood with folded hands Monday at the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) stadium. They were appealing to Hardik Patel’s Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) not to use this weekend’s India-South Africa ODI in Rajkot as a platform for the ongoing reservation agitation. This plea by the children came after the city ‘elders’ — SCA officials, past and present Ranji players and influential cricket fans — had no success in persuading PAAS to keep politics out of the game. The SCA insists that the ‘prayer for peace’ idea was floated by the young cricketers themselves. And all that cricket officials did was just ask them to stand in neat rows, called photographers and shared the frames with the media. [related-post] “The young cricketers told our head coach that they would like to formally request Patidars not to use the ODI as a platform for their agitation. He agreed and allowed them to make the gesture,” SCA media manager Himanshu Shah said. Veteran BCCI administrator from the region and SCA secretary Niranjan Shah called it an “emotional request”. “Badon ka nahin maane, bachchon ka toh sun lo (You didn’t heed the request of the elders, at least listen to the children). We are requesting them not to bring politics to the cricket field,” he said. The build-up to the third ODI game of the India-South Africa series in Rajkot has been like no other. SCA officials have been thinking of ways to keep protesters out. “Anyone interested in buying tickets will have to submit ID proof along with contact details,” Niranjan Shah said. He said rumours were adding to the confusion. “The Patidar Samaj claims they have got tickets for the ODI but let me make it clear that until now, not a single ticket has been sold.” In Ahmedabad, PAAS convenor Hardik Patel said: “We shall use the match to make the world aware about our agitation. However, we shall not disturb the match in any manner.” Niranjan Shan said he is counting on the police to ensure a peaceful match. “The consequences of a protest will be very bad. SCA might be banned from hosting any international game in the future,” he said.
