From traditional banners to fancy dresses, dashing entries in the stadium and cheering aloud are just hues of the marvellous colour palette of a fan-studded stadium.
The apogee of fans hopping to 11 different venues can only be witnessed at a mega fair of fandom. Yes, World Cup is one of the wonders of sports that allow the beautifully attired fans to walk on its ramp. 28000 fans spread equally in various colours inside the stadium while the outside is filled with countless and numerous fans with single accreditation card held by the virtue of their passion under the category of fans.
The aura is not new when it is cricket World Cup, but an old marvelous concept that is evolving day by day. With the finals scheduled at Lord’s that holds the capacity to host 28,000 fans, more than the greenery of the pitch, glittering will be the colours of thousands of them. From traditional banners, face paints to fancy dresses, dashing entries in the stadium and cheering aloud are just hues of the marvelous colour palette of a fan-studded stadium.
Let’s take a sneak peek to fan fanatic frames from the lens of the cricket World Cup.
Sudhir Kumar, face of Indian fans: Covering long distances with savings and hard-earned money, painting tricolour on body for 12 hours before every match, entering the stadium with laughs and even struggle, Sudhir Kumar is the most ardent fan of Sachin Tendulkar and is a prominent face of Indian cricketing fans.
Hailing from Muzaffarpur, Bihar, Kumar’s tricolour dominance from stadiums plays a huge fan support for on-field cricketers and plays a treat for television visuals. Donning the Indian flag identity on his body, Sudhir Kumar stands for the team throughout the matches, prepares for 12 hours before every match and sleeps sometimes even without a meal just to afford the travel from stadium to stadium. Well, the happier part is, all is paid off when the team wins and he makes and takes memories of a lifetime with every single match.
Mr Pakistan: a hero and an ordinary postman: An ordinary postman in Birmingham and a super fan by virtue of his passion, Mr Pakistan believes both his identities feed his existence on and off the field. The postman allows him to pay for his match tickets while the fan pays his hunger to cheer for his team. Donning a traditional sherwani made from Pakistan with 357 Pakistani flags hand-stitched with love by his mother and wife, Mr Pakistan, aka Amjad Hussain’s, sole aim is to uplift the spirit of cricket amidst Pakistan in all moments. 2010 gave birth to Mr Pakistan when Pakistani cricket was facing its downfall. With the aim to uplift the face of cricket ensuring cheers from every corner reaching the pitch, Amjad happily owned the identity to follow his path of fandom.
Sugumar Kumar, the Virat Kohlian: While his prime colour is red during home matches and blue during international matches, hailing from Bengaluru, Sugumar Kumar plays many roles in order to celebrate all the colours of his family bound life, professional nuances and has to feed well his inside fan boy of the Indian skipper. Since 2008, Sugumar has left no stones unturned to attend all matches of Virat Kohli. While his customised attires are decked with traditional meanings depicting historical customs, Sugumar’s darker hues are yet unseen by the bling of fan-studded Virat Kohlian. The struggle to shell out monies for his international tickets and adjustments back at his office takes a lot of hue and cry that makes a full man into a fan. But while working to fulfill his family dreams, the fan in him ensures he lives his dream to cheer the Indian team, be it in his home country or abroad.
Gayan Senanayake, the Super Sri Lankan Fan: Gayan’s journey began from 1996 World Cup from where the passion of fan thrilled his veins that gave birth to the leader of fans in Sri Lanka. Gayan has influenced many fans that come in numbers to cheer for the team. A Sri Lankan jersey and a traditional fan hat is all what composes the identity of little Gayan, but the message is loud across all geographical borders. That’s the reason why even Indian skipper Virat Kohli got him flown from Sri Lanka to Mumbai for his closed door wedding reception party. Gayan’s aim is to support his team through thick and thin, making fandom a revolution.
Sheikh of Pakistan: While wearing colourful attires has become a trend to prove your fan congruity, the Sheikh of Pakistan has gone an extra mile to dominate his fan presence. Entering on a horseback into the stadium with eyeballs rolling on the iconic entry ever by a fan, the Sheikh of Pakistan, aka Ejaz Baig, has surely went a step ahead in the modern era of fans. The sole purpose of his legendary entry is to defeat all fans by his eye-catching move that got the Pakistan cricket team in headlines through its super fans—well this is what his Twitter post brags on the go.
Chacha Cricket aka Abdul Jalil: His name needs no introduction as Chacha Cricket is the oldest fan of Team Pakistan. Celebrating his golden jubilee as a fan with Cricket World Cup 2019, Chacha Crickets dons a green sherwani, holds the Pakistani flags and walks accumulating 50 years of his experience as a fan that has seen many generations of cricketers come and go. Chacha Cricket, though the oldest, reflects the colours of a child who is super happy and ever ready to do his favourite things, and here, cheering for his team which he has been doing since ages. No matter if he lost three of his jobs, no matter he gets money out of it or not, no matter whether he is fancied by the bling attires or not, his experience is golden that resonates amongst the greatest of fans all across the world.
While there are many fans who knit up in the fanciest of attires to cheer for their teams during iconic clashes like the cricket World Cup, Stani Army, Shoaib Ali Bukhari, and emerging fans are coming in huge numbers to cheer for their team. And what is more marvellous is to see the sea of colours that blankets the stadium with the presence of just fans and fans spread across in thousands. The bright coloured and fanciful attires are quick to gain momentum on TV screens, on the pitch, outside the stadiums with shutterbugs vouching for selfies, these fans share unison in single and epic colour of fandom that knows no identity and behind the shimmers shares darker hues of sleepless nights, meal-less days and rejections during entries at various venues, but stronger is the will and determination that refuses to fall or withholding their feet to stride towards cheering for their team in any given circumstances.
This iconic scene can only be recorded through legendary tournaments like the World Cup where these legendary fans unite.