Innocent bystanders — in the case of the current IPL, an elderly fan — being struck by the ball is one of sport’s least desirable sights. Someone watching from the sidelines suddenly becomes part of the action, the dividing line having disappeared. It is worrying. Luckily the fan who was injured in New Chandigarh during a match last week seems all right. Unsurprisingly, questions are being asked about spectator safety in our stadiums.

But that is only one aspect. There are larger issues regarding the spectator experience in Indian stadiums where people have been refused entry for wearing a black shirt or had their medicines seized.

Since I began my career as a reporter, India have won five World Cups, become the No. 1 team, attracted more money, garnered more power and established a unipolar world in cricket. But one thing hasn’t changed: the callous disregard for the paying spectator.

Cricket associations act as if they need to do as little as possible. Crowds turn up anyway, media ensure coverage, television brings in billions. Players have little power to change things, so they don’t even try. In any case they are focused on their game. Still, it would be nice to hear one of them say, I will not play here “till there are proper ladies’ toilets in all the stands” or “till there are ramps for wheel-chair access.”

And while we are fantasising, how about senior officials occasionally sitting in the stands to experience the average spectator’s discomfort?

Low priority

The fan, thanks to whom all those billions come into the kitty, is at the bottom of the priority list. When India hosted the 50-over World Cup in 2023, the classic Indian confusions were on public view. There was delay in the announcement of the schedule which gave fans little time to plan their own itineraries. The ticketing was a mess. In case you missed all this, these were repeated at the T20 World Cup this year. Most venues function on the theory: build something, however inconvenient, and they will come.

The complaints — messy toilets, exorbitantly priced food, lack of water, insensitive security, poor transport and parking — pop up regularly.

Yet, none of this has made the slightest difference to the bottom line. The International Cricket Council’s economic impact assessment concluded that the 50-over World Cup generated $1.39 billion to India’s economy.

That is impressive even if not all the revenue accrued to the game itself.

According to an independent assessment by Nielsen, the event created over 48,000 jobs, driven by tourism and hospitality spend, with a record 1.25 million spectators.

Players have minimum requirements to be met, media and broadcasters have minimum requirements, hospitality boxes have minimum requirements. The spectator has minimum requirements, some of it guided by common sense, but he has to simply buckle down and accept whatever is given. There’s no one he can complain to, no council for the redressal of spectator complaints.

Not fazed

Such ‘minor’ issues do not faze the authorities. Indian fans are a remarkably resilient lot, with immeasurable patience and oodles of tolerance. These sterling qualities work against them, however. The authorities know this, and are happy to take advantage.

As the meetings of the Board of Control for Cricket in India have shown over the years, when it comes to cricket administration, all political parties are the same. They even prop up one another on the theory that if they don’t hang together, they will hang separately.

Former cricketers who enter administration are usually unable to shake things up. The system is too well entrenched. There’s something magical at the threshold between player and official. As soon as a player crosses it, he becomes indistinguishable from rooted official. The transition has always reminded me of the final lines of Orwell’s Animal Farm where pigs take over the farm, but nothing ultimately changes. As Orwell writes, “The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig…but already it was impossible to say which was which.”

Even in informal discussions, there will hardly be a nod to the paying spectator and the hardships she is put through at many of our stadiums. Accountability is only for players and coaches; it is unheard of in officialdom.