Colombo, February 15 Rehan Fernando is excited during a 20-minute drive to the Premadasa stadium – not just because of the thoughts of an India vs Pakistan match that keeps millions of fans busy across the stadium, living rooms, pubs, and social media.
“I’m going to get a lot of Uber requests on Sunday for dropping off and picking up people at the stadium. I need to keep my Suzuki Every fueled and ready for the rush hour,” Fernando says cheerfully.
The 41-year-old, who has two children, knows that Sunday alone can significantly boost his income.
“I heard that the tickets have been sold out. Who knows! Maybe I’ll make enough money to do some pending repairs.”
Fernando’s words reflect the general mood in Sri Lanka. For many, the India vs Pakistan match, which they don’t have a direct connection with, is a source of income.
Fernando is not alone in this. The prospect of financial gain is attracting sections of Lankan society.
Let’s move to the posh Park Street Mews – the heart of Colombo evenings and nights.
A short drive along Kynsey Mawatha (road) to the bustling food street past the De Soysa circle showcases all the good things about Colombo.
Shining buildings, wide and clean roads, showrooms of super luxury cars, outlets of exclusive suits, fine dining restaurants – the 2km trip easily fits Colombo’s tag as a cosmopolitan port city.
It leads to a wide street filled with pubs and bistros, but Indian and Pakistani visitors have outnumbered the locals on Saturday night, which runs till 2 am.
“We are struggling to find seats for our customers. We generally get good footfall on weekends, but we have not expected this kind of numbers,” says Michael Amarasiri, the store manager of a well-known watering hole in the city.
Amarasiri has a deeper involvement with the India vs Pakistan match. His brother-in-law runs a travel company here, and the unpredictable nature of the match has put them in a quandary.
“Till last week, we were unsure whether the match would happen or not. We have also received some requests to cancel the room bookings after Pakistan announced its decision to boycott this match.
“But once it was decided to go ahead with the match, we received calls to revive the cancelled room bookings, and also more fans from India – particularly from Mumbai, Chennai, and Bengaluru – have approached us for two-night or even one-night stays,” says Amarasiri.
“Yes, we cannot accommodate everyone, but we have also tried to link with small-time tour operators and individuals who are giving houses on rent to accommodate as many requests as possible. We have also found out that the airfare has really gone through the roof in the last couple of days,” he says.
“Maybe we can have more India vs Pakistan matches in Colombo. Why don’t we have a bilateral series between them here?” Amarasiri chuckles.
But these are people from organized sectors. The local industry is also ready to make hay on the weekend.
The Khettarama road is now teeming with local vendors selling Indian and Pakistani jerseys, hats, flags, young men roaming around with ink to print erasable tattoos, temporary stalls to give lemonade, fruit juice, and coconut water to fans standing in queue under the beaming Lankan sun.
Even the cricketers feel it themselves. Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha described it well.
“I have done at least 4-5 tours of Sri Lanka. I have seen the best people of my life here. They are very nice people and their hospitality is very good. So we are enjoying our time here,” said Salman.
So are the fans and the Sri Lankan economy.
