Poor spectator turnout for Kings XI Punjab's opening CLT20 game in Mohali

Kings XI Punjab played their opening CL T20 match in front of a sparse crowd at the PCA stadium in Mohali

In what is another sign of the lack of interest in the CLT20, Kings XI Punjab’s opening encounter against Hobart Hurricanes in Mohali yesterday saw a majority of the stadium being empty despite the fact that the home team was in action.

The CLT20 authorities would have hoped that the stadium, which has a capacity of 28,000, would fill up as the match progressed, but that didn’t turn out to be the case as Kings XI got their first win on the board in front of a near-empty stadium.

Ankush, a young fan, who was one of the few attending the game, said that he was a huge fan of Kings XI and wanted to cheer them on in what was their first ever game in the competition, but he admitted that the tournament does not enjoy the same popularity as the IPL.

"May be the event is not hyped as much as the IPL, which may be the reason for the poor turnout," he said talking to NDTV.

Another fan present for the match, Harmeet Singh, said that he was hoping to be entertained by Kings XI opening batsman Virender Sehwag but was ultimately left disappointed as Sehwag was dismissed for a golden duck off the bowling of Doug Bollinger.

"I was hoping to see a big knock from him, but he got out without scoring," he said.

The next CLT20 game in Mohali is between two overseas sides in Dolphins and Perth Scorchers on Saturday.