- The Indian cricket fans are too passionate, aggressive, demanding, and overtly exuberant towards the team and cricketers need no further elaboration. We know how Indians place the cricketers on a pedestal with such fanfare, devotion, and affection that it might appear cringeworthy with the overdoing for some of us. However, such passion is the very reason why cricket has become so popular around the country, considered as no less than a religion here. We have had several instances in the past when the cricketers were uninhibitedly admired for their exploits on the field. Likewise, whenever Team India failed to live up to the expectations of the countrymen, the cricketers were treated badly too.
PC: Sports Tiger
- Residences of cricketers getting targeted for failure in a major tournament are not uncommon here. Especially when Team India lost in a crucial World Cup game or for that matter, when it failed against arch-rival Pakistan, the Indian cricketers were in the firing line of their fans’ ire. Yes, Indian fans can go to any extreme to vent their unhappiness. The ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League has reached the business end with four teams qualifying for the playoffs. Recollect how one of the last few league matches played between the Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru was considered crucial since the winning team would qualify for the playoffs. The match between the two southern franchises turned out to be a thriller as expected.
- Cricket fans closely following the fortunes of the ongoing IPL would have noticed a remarkable turnaround of RCB winning six consecutive league matches to qualify for the playoffs. When all experts and fans wrote off the chances of RCB, the team didn’t give up but came out with some spectacular performances en route. No wonder, the talismanic Virat Kohli is at his belligerent best and is the leading run-scorer with an orange cap to boot. The way Kohli is leading the batting and unquenchable thirst for scoring runs as well as his energy on the field is simply amazing. When it mattered most, Chennai simply could not score the required runs to improve the net run rate and was beaten by Bengaluru. So, RCB fans were ecstatic, but what transpired after the win turned out to be ugly, abhorrent, and simply unacceptable.
PC: Money Control
- The way Chennai supporters were booed, heckled, bullied, harassed, and sworn at must have given the impression that some battle was underway in Bengaluru. The partisan crowds are expected to back their favorite team unabashedly. However, note that this is not a bilateral cricket series between the two countries but a franchise-based T20 league match. It’s all good to see the passionate supporters extending unwavering support to the home team, but the cricket admirers are also expected to be considerate towards the other team as well. Mind you, CSK is a five-time champion side having proven its credentials year after year. The RCB fans could have been more mature and accommodating in acknowledging the same. We are not at war here, please!
