10 December 2007

The Indian Cricket League is creating history at the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex in Chandigarh, and not only for its cricket matches. For the first time ZeeSports and ICL have included social messaging and donated advertising space to their chosen cause – the protection of wild tigers.

ZeeSports approached the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) and offered banner space, sight screens and passes for 15 “tigers” to attend the matches and use the venue to reach the large audience of cricket-viewing fans. Messages in English and Hindi capture the seriousness of the issue using a cricket theme: “Make a loud appeal: don’t let this be our last innings”, “You don’t need tiger bone wine to bowl a straight line”, and CRICKET – “Calling Responsible Individuals to Conserve NOT Kill our Endangered Tiger”.

Belinda Wright, Executive Director of WPSI said, “this was a fantastic opportunity to highlight the plight of the tiger. Our national animal is fast disappearing and too little is being done to stop it slipping into extinction. The tiger has no votes but if we all join together and appeal for its protection, the government will have to take notice. The world is watching us. It would be a national shame to let this magnificent animal, the soul of wild India, disappear through indifference and inaction.”

With the support of the International Tiger Coalition, several conservationists in India worked together to get the message out. The organisers of the Indian Cricket League and tiger activists could see the appropriateness of linking tigers and cricket: both are symbols of India. There is little chance that we will see an India without cricket, but an India without tigers is an awful possibility. Fewer than 1,500 tigers are now left in the wild in India, and the species can only be saved if we stem the trade in tiger parts, stop the killing, and leave the tiger forests to the tigers. We appeal to all the cricket fans in India to help make this a reality.