CRICKET IS a religion for many in India, and the ardent followers of their teams and players are truly loyal to the sport and the game. The best example of this is being provided by Chennai Super Kings, the IPL team that has been banned for two years by the Supreme Court-appointed Justice RM Lodha committee.
CSK, which boasts of a stellar line-up including MS Dhoni, Indian captain (ODI), Suresh Raina, and R Ashwin has a huge fan following and is one of the most popular and successful teams in the league. Since the top CSK players have been part of the team since the start of IPL, the fans are obviously dejected by the news of the suspension and have decided to take their support for their team to the streets.
A campaign titled #SaveCSK have hit social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. They plan to run a signature campaign that would be distributed among the CSK fans which will be sent to BCCI and Supreme Court requesting to lift the ban.
H Saravanan, an ardent follower, has given a call to other CSK fans to gather outside the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on August 1st between 10am - 5pm where the above mentioned petition will be signed.
The Facebook and Twitter page was created by him and already more than 7,000 fans have accepted the invitation to attend the event.
The Twitter page stated this
These fans clearly want to put up a show of strength so that they get a decision in their favour.
A post on the Facebook page read like this: ''Come on fans, lets get ready to paint the city yellow, Date: 1st August , Saturday, Time: 10:30 AM, Assembly Venue: Nr. Pattabiraman Gate, MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wallajah Road. Please don't forget to wear yellow!!''
It is a valiant move by the fans, but considering the circumstances and legal path which led to the ban, it is unlikely that CSKians will see their team play the next two editions of the IPL.