'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
As the home matches of Chennai Super Kings were moved from Chennai to Pune because of the protests in the city, the local fans were left disappointed. They had waited for two long years to see their team play at the Chepauk but their happiness was short-lived. CSK ended up playing just one home game before the IPL shifted their home venue to Pune.
Just to make their fans happy, the team management, on an idea given by the Chennai Super Kings Fan Club, have arranged a charter train from Chennai to Pune - the Whistle Podu Express - with 1000 fans boarding it on 19th April.
The fans, after watching the match on 20th April, will leave Pune on the morning of 21st April. A total of 13 coaches, with one A/C coach, has been allotted by the Railways to them. All expenses of the fans including travel, food for all days, stay, local transportation at Pune, match tickets and jersey are borne by CSK.
"The inaugural train journey was flagged off by Mr. Rakesh Singh, Executive President, India Cements Ltd, our sponsor. CSK management wishes to thank the Southern Railways for arranging a special train. CSK wishes to organise similarly for all its home games in Pune for fans from Chennai to travel and witness the matches in Pune subject to availability of trains."
When contacted, Mr. Kasi Vishwanathan, the CEO of the franchise, said this is the least the franchise can do for the fans, who were the team's 12th man since the inception of IPL.
"All the fans have waited for two years to see their beloved team play in the IPL. Unfortunately, they couldn't watch all the home matches from the stadium this season and are disappointed because of that. All they could manage to witness was just one match at Chepauk. They requested us for some discounts on the match tickets in Pune. But, we decided to make their trip free of cost.
"Without the fans, Chennai Super Kings are nothing. This is the least we can do for the fans who are loyal to us. So, we decided to make prior arrangements for the fans to go all the way to Pune and watch their team play. There were over 10000 fans to see the team train for the IPL before the tournament started and we expected at least 1000 people to board the train to Pune. The response we eventually got is overwhelming," said Kasi Viswanathan in an exclusive interview to Sportskeeda.
The fans in Chennai were thrilled to know about this development as they expected some help from the team management who, always acknowledge the efforts of the fans, something that is very evident from the fact that they asked the fans to welcome MS Dhoni at the Chepauk during last year's TNPL.
When contacted Prabhu Damodharan, one of the founding members of Chennai Super Kings fan club, said, "even when the team was suspended for two years, we, as the fan club of Chennai Super Kings, have been doing a lot of social activities. When the ban was over, we were very excited to see the team play at Chepauk. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. To be honest, nothing can match around 33,000 fans cheering for CSK at Chepauk. But, now, at least 1000 fans will be smiling because they will be seeing their favourite team play.
"So, when the matches were moved out of Chennai and Pune was announced as the home venue for all the CSK matches, we had requested the team management for some discounts on match tickets and asked them whether they can add 3-4 more coaches to the existing trains to Pune. Though we expected the management to help us with a few minor things, we didn't see this coming.
"We then organised a team for this and made sure not only the fans in Chennai but also the ones outside, who purchased tickets for the Rajasthan Royals match, are on the train to Pune. A lot of our fans couldn't make it because of the short notice. Not every organization will give their employees three days leave and because of that, a handful of fans couldn't go to Pune," he added.
Chennai Super Kings take on Rajasthan Royals in their second home game and their first in Pune on April 20 and the fans will hope for a winning start at their adopted home.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
