ACA Secretary Says Stadium Audience Switched On Phone Flashlight To Dry Damp Pitch

Recently, the T20 match between India and Sri Lanka which was held in Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati, became the inspiration for several hilarious memes. Due to continuous rainfall, the pitch ended up getting damp and the ground staff came up with a ‘jugaad’ to fix the situation – dry the pitch using hair-dryers and vacuum cleaners! But this didn’t solve the issue and the match had to be called off.

@BCCI Richest cricket board, & use hair dryer & iron box to dry the pitch!!
What a SHAME #BCCI !! #INDvsSL @guwahaticity pic.twitter.com/K0BsAN77q2

— F&C💮 (@FilmsCricket) January 5, 2020

There was a moment where thousands of spectators in the stadium switched on their phone lights and sang A.R. Rahman’s ‘Vande Mataram’ together in perfect sync.

Guwahati, you beauty 😍#INDvSL pic.twitter.com/QuZAq7i1E3

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 5, 2020

However, Assam Cricket Association Secretary, Debojit Saikia, spoke of the incident differently. Speaking to a journalist, Saikia said that the audience cooperated with the ground staff by switching on their mobile flashlights to dry the wet and damp patches of the pitch, reports Pratidin Time.

A video of Saikia speaking to a journalist has gone viral on the internet. He says, “Did you notice one thing yesterday. The whole crowd switched on their mobile flashlights at one moment. Why do you think they did so?”

“Because everyone wished that from the flashlight there should be some light, some heat so that the field gets dry,” he added.

When the journalist tried to reason with him saying that the crowd must have done it for fun because crowds usually switch on their flashlights on occasions like this.

But Saikia was quick to respond, “No..no, it was not for fun. They gave a message to the world that together we will all dry the field with our mobile flashlights.”

Watch the video here:

In another interview with a regional news channel, Saikia stays put on his comment and tries to defend it. When the news anchor highlights that by Saikia’s logic, the huge floodlights in the stadium can dry damp pitches but since those don’t work, phone lights don’t work either. But Saikia could not be reasoned with!

Watch the interview here:

The match might have been called off, but people have been entertained nonetheless!