India-South Africa ODI in Kanpur - Who's going to buy the tickets? Jugaad hai na!

With less than a month to go for the India vs South Africa ODI, scheduled for October 11 in Kanpur, Lucknowites have taken out their most potent weapon to gain entry into the Green Park Stadium jugaad.In spite of tickets being available online from tomorrow, the cricket buffs in the city are depending on their 'contacts' to book them a box seat in the stadium, and bureaucrats, police officers and every known officer in the UP Cricket Association, apart from all those with the right pull are already inundated with calls.
FRIENDS IN NEED
...Prateek Bajaj, a businessman from the city , has already started looking for his jugaad to arrange passes for the cricket match. "Last time when the match between India and England took place in Kanpur, I had to ask a top cop in Kanpur for passes. But he's not posted there anymore, so I will have to look afresh for a jugaad. In fact, I have already called up a senior bureaucrat in Lucknow and have requested him to please spare a few passes for me and my friends. To be on the safer side, I am also looking for a contact in Kanpur," he says.
Siddharth Sharma*, a citybased entrepreneur already has his jugaad list in place. "I'm a cricket freak and have even travelled to other cities to watch matches. So when such a big match is coming close to my city , there is no way I would miss it. I've tapped four different sources Governor's house, sponsors, UPCA and political connections for the match, and I'm sure at least one of them will work out," he says.Ask him why not go the normal route and purchase tickets and he says, "When I have the option of getting the better seats in the stadium, why wouldn't I exercise it? The box seats, as it is, are not for sale. If they were, I would have bought them. If nothing works out, I will buy the tickets."
...FRIENDS INDEED!
According to sources, one of the reasons why people resort to jugaad fixing is that out of the 32,000 seats in the Green Park Stadium, less than 10% are put up for sale. No wonder then that bureaucrats, former cricketers, those with political connections all say in unison that they are being flooded with phone calls from friends, relatives and even far off acquaintances for VVIP passes for the match. Like Aman Singh Bisht, brother of Aparna Yadav (Mulayam Singh Yadav's daughter-in-law) shares with us shyly ,"A couple of people have called me in the past two weeks for passes. And it's not only from Lucknow, I'm even getting calls from friends in Mumbai and Delhi. Calls from distant acquaintances increase in the run-up to such events, and people start trying to hang out with you more often. And some time before the match, they say 'Aur bhai, match ke liye chal rahe hain na?'. This happened in 2013 also, when the India vs West Indies match was held in Kanpur, and even when the F1 race took place in Noida."
Former Ranji cricketer Ali Hamid Zaidi has also been receiving calls for "special" passes for the upcoming match, which his good friend Suresh Raina will be playing. "Everybody thinks it's very easy for us to arrange for passes. They don't realise that even we can only manage a particular number, not beyond them. And nobody wants regular stand seats, they all want the VVIP passes. I must have got approximately 100 calls till now. I courteously try to tell them that I'll do whatever is possible, but I cannot guarantee them," says Ali. "Jab bhi Kanpur mein match announce hota hai, we anticipate that ab passes ki maara-maari hogi," he adds with a laugh.
Former UP Ranji team captain Jyoti Yadav, who has now turned to politics, too is facing a similar dilemma these days. "We get limited passes from the UPCA. Calls toh bahut pehle se aani shuru ho jaati hain, so I tell them that they should call me closer to the match and I'll see what can be done. That way , some of them get the message and try other sources," says Jyoti.
CALLING KANPUR
Kanpurites are also being badgered by their relatives and friends in Lucknow for match passes. Kanpur-based leather exporter Mohsin Sabir shares, "Some four of my cousins from Lucknow have asked for tickets, expecting us to arrange them from some source. But I will either book them online or will buy them from the window," says Mohsin.