‘The protestors should have boycotted…’ – Shashi Tharoor not happy with the fans as they didn’t turn up in large numbers in third ODI

A half-empty stadium in Thiruvananthapuram hosted the India-Sri Lanka cricket match on Sunday. Congressman Shashi Tharoor attributed the low attendance to Kerala Sports Minister V Abdurahiman’s recent contentious remarks over the ticket price. The protesters ought to have boycotted the Minister, not the game, Tharoor claimed in a series of tweets.

“It appears that my statement yesterday regretting the poor attendance at the third India-SriLanka ODI, as a result of the social media boycott urged by fans enraged by the insensitive remarks of the Kerala Sports Minister, has been misrepresented by some,” Tharoor wrote on Twitter.

“Boycotts are a democratic right, but they should target the person against whom the boycotters are protesting. I have nothing against those who were understandably outraged by the Minister’s callous comment that those who can’t afford to buy a ticket need not attend the match,“ stated the Minister.

I hear that my comments were only partially reported & have been distorted by some: Shashi Tharoor

“The Sports Minister, who didn’t bother enough to even attend the match, doesn’t care if the gallery is full or empty. He was unaffected by the boycott. The protestors should have boycotted the Minister, not the game. The boycott only hurt the future prospects of cricket in Tvm,” he said

“The KCA, which has nothing to do w/the Minister or his insensitive comments, needed a good turnout to bolster its case for Tvm to be selected as a World Cup venue later this year. If the low turnout yesterday is held against us by the Indian Cricket Board, only sports fans will suffer,” the Congress Minister asserted.

“That’s the point i made yesterday at the stadium. I hear that my comments were only partially reported & have been distorted by some. Hope this thread makes my stand clear, as a cricket fan & as the local MP. I want top-class cricket to flourish in Trivandrum!” said the 66-year-old.

By claiming that people who cannot afford it should not attend the game, Abdurahiman provoked a significant uproar. The ongoing Sabarimala pilgrimage season, the Pongal festival, and some CBSE exams that started on Monday, according to the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA), were to blame for the low attendance.