Sydney: Two protestors staged a pitch invasion at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) with “No $1BN Adani loan” signs during the first One Day International (ODI) between India and Australia on November 27.
One of the invaders, carrying a placard ‘No $1BN Adani Loan’, managed to reach the pitch just before pacer Navdeep Saini was getting ready to bowl the sixth over of Australia’s innings. “We’ve got a couple of pitch invaders protesting about something,” Adam Gilchrist was heard saying on Fox Sports, from the commentary box.
The two protestors were escorted out of the pitch by the security after their brief invasion.
“The State Bank of India needs to bowl out Adani’s loan and swing the bat for a safe future for Indians. Cricket is India’s most loved game, and as millions of Indian taxpayers watch the match today, we are letting them know that the State Bank of India is at risk of handing their money to a billionaire to dig a polluting coal mine in Australia,” said Varsha and Majot, the spokespersons of the ‘Stop Adani’ movement, who were present in the SCG for the match.
Slogans were also raised by the members of the ‘Stop Adani’ group in front of the SCG ahead of the match.
Adani has faced country-wide protests in Australia against the Queensland project, and many have run an “Adani go back” campaign to deter the group from moving ahead. Protesters have raised concerns that the project can possibly increase global warming and also threaten the Great Barrier Reef.
This is also the first time fans have returned to the ground for the first time since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic forced games before empty stadiums across the world.