Delhi under-19 travels by bus after train travel deemed expensive

New Delhi: The Indigo Airlines crisis has hit domestic cricket teams badly and Delhi was no exception.

The Delhi under-19 team was scheduled to leave for Jabalpur for their Cooch Behar Trophy tie against Madhya Pradesh on a flight on December 5 but the plan had to be shelved after it was revealed that the flight was cancelled.

The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) then thought of sending the team by train, however, they could not find any space in the train.

The Indian Railways offered them an option of attaching a separate bogey to the train and in the event of finding no other passenger, the entire cost would have to be borne by the DDCA.

The association, however, decided against that.

“It was costing us about Rs 4.5 lakh which is big money. So, we decided against renting a train bogey. Instead, we sent them by bus. It cost us between Rs 1.6 to Rs 1.8 lakh,” said DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma.

Travelling by bus is generally tiring especially since it was around a 1,000 km journey. Naturally, the decision attracted severe criticism.

“The bus we hired was Volvo. Nowadays, bus journeys are not tough as the Volvo buses are very comfortable. You have to understand that the train cost of Rs 4.5 lakh was one-way. Bringing them back by train would have cost us an equal amount again. However, we may ask them to return by train if we get seats,” said Sharma.

The bus will be stationed in Jabalpur for any eventuality.

The cancellation of Indigo Airlines services has impacted not just teams across the country but individuals on cricketing duty too.

Rohit Pandit, the CEO of Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association, said, “At the moment our teams are not affected but some individuals, serving as officials and selectors, are not being able to travel or they will travel by train.”

The Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir junior teams were impacted and had to travel by either train or by road.

According to a media report in 'The Sportstar', the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has given a one-day cushion for teams arriving late, meaning the match can start a day late.

Tags : Indigo Airlines, BCCI, DDCA, Cricket, Jabalpur, New Delhi