As the saying goes – Fight fir with fire – and this is exactly what the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) has done to fend off the trouble and menace caused by monkeys. The Green Park Stadium in Kanpur is a favourite play ground of monkeys and these miscreants often cause havoc by grabbing and stealing food. As a means of counter measure, the UPCA has brought in langurs and their handlers to fend off monkeys from the stadium during the IND vs BAN 2nd Test.
Apart from the stands, it is the broadcast cameramen who are most troubled by monkeys. The nuisance creating monkeys grab and run off with food and drinks much to the annoyance of the camera personnel. And thus langurs whom the monkeys fear have been brought into the stadium to drive the former away.
UPCA use Langurs to fend off Monkeys
“To avoid the terror of monkeys, we have langurs (long-tailed leaf monkeys) to take care of them,” said venue director Sanjay Kapoor.
Well, this isn’t the first time that langurs have been used in international cricket matches at the Green Park stadium. Previously too these mammals have been introduced at the venue. As an extra precautionary measure, the stands where the camera broadcast personnel are stationed are covered with black cloths to limit the access of monkeys to dash away with food.
Coming to the game, Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bowl first. India went with an unchanged playing XI from the Chennai Test and grabbed some early wickets. The game started a hour late owing to the outfield being wet. At lunch Bangladesh managed to rake up 74/2 in 26 overs.
