The Hindu Business Line : It ain't cricket, laments hospitality sector in Kerala

"Even as Sehwag and Dravid were lofting the Pakistani bowling attack all over the fence, the commentators, sitting in air-conditioned comfort, were airing excruciating details about the hot and sultry weather of Kochi. "Now we are plagued by recurrent queries from our customers, asking if they should cancel their bookings and if the weather in Kerala is as oppressive as it was made out to be," senior sources in the Taj group of hotels said.

The unkind comments on Kerala weather did not stop there. Taking off on the ragged weather conditions, Mr Dileep Premachandran wrote in his article Midsummer Madness on Cricinfo.com: "To say that the conditions were inhuman would be the mildest of understatements."

The Indian captain Sourav Ganguly was more benign in his comments, reported the India Abroad New Service: "The heat is going to play its part in forthcoming matches too."

The Pakistan captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq, has not been a happy man since reaching Kochi, the Pakistan-based Jang Group of newspapers reported. "The reason," the report said, "is the very hot weather and the exhaustive travelling and playing schedule that awaits the team in the next 16 days for the six one-day international matches against India."

"For the tourists, there are far more entertaining pursuits on the languid backwaters, beaches and hill resorts. No tourist spends money and time to come to Kerala to play cricket," sources in the hospitality industry said.

On an average, Kerala remains seven to eight degrees cooler than the plains of North India during summer. It is to enjoy the break from the torrid heat of North India that tourists head southward to Kerala.

Ironically, it was a combination of copious and unseasonable summer showers that made the weather oppressive. But even then, the conditions remained ideal to loll on the beaches, ride along the backwaters and soak in the culture and history of the place - though, of course, not to play cricket, the sources said.

However, the full toss from the cricket field seems to have knocked the bails off Kerala tourism. The hospitality industry maintains that it isn't cricket. But they are confident that the intrepid national and international traveller will continue to call on Kerala, cricket or no cricket.

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