When India lost its match against arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup, propagandists viewed it as an ideal chance to divide Indians and slander India on the world stage. Bots impersonating Indian supporters began to criticise and insult Indian cricketer Arshdeep Singh for dropping a catch during the match. Arshdeep’s Wikipedia page was also edited by someone with a Pakistani IP address to add “Khalistani” to his profile.
These troll accounts and their trolling was given a boost from the Indian side by none other than Alt News cofounder Mohammed Zubair. Within minutes following Pakistan’s last run, Zubair had a series of screenshots of Twitter users who used the epithet “Khalistani” for Arshdeep Singh. A complaint has been registered against Zubair in this matter for inciting hatred through his tweets.
While the campaign to call Arshdeep a Khalistani and divide Indians was largely running from Pakistan backed by the useful idiots sitting in India, fans criticising Indian cricketers for underperforming or making a mistake in crucial matches is hardly a new phenomenon. With the passion for the game running high in the country, fans do tend to go overboard with their criticism on occasions, and even legends of the game like Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni don’t remain untouched in that case.
Here is a list of 5 incidents in which Indian cricketers have been attacked for not performing in crucial matches resulting in the loss of the Indian team.
Azharuddin’s effigies burnt after the 1996 ICC World Cup Semifinal.
The Wills World Cup semi-final match between India and Sri Lanka in 1996 ended in disaster for India, with the team losing in bizarre circumstances as the angry fans didn’t let the match finish. With India heading for a massive defeat, fans started throwing stuff on the ground making the resumption of play impossible, and the match referee handed Sri Lanka the victory.
Azharuddin, in particular, was insulted and booed when the Indian team exited Eden Gardens following the game. As a result of his decision to chase on a dry pitch after winning the toss, Azharuddin was accused of gifting the semifinal to Sri Lanka.
The uproar was not limited to Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. Effigies of Indian cricketers, particularly of Azharuddin, were set ablaze across the country. Security was also deployed outside the house of Azharuddin to prevent any untoward incident.
Houses of players stoned, effigies burnt after India’s poor start to the 2003 World Cup.
Even though India reached the Final of the 2003 World Cup, their start to the tournament wasn’t that great. After struggling to beat Holland in their first match, India slumped to a nine-wicket defeat against Australia sparking widespread outrage back home. Angry cricket fans took to the streets, with posters of numerous Indian cricketers being burned and residences of players being stoned.
Cricket fans burnt pictures of Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, top batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Virendra Sehwag, and screamed chants such as “Down with Sourav.” According to media reports, the most violent protest was directed at the family home of batsman Mohammad Kaif. A crowd hurled plastic bags containing paint and black oil at Kaif’s residence in Allahabad.
Sourav Ganguly publicly criticised the Indian public’s fury and asked the players not to communicate with the media. Following this episode, India won eight straight games to reach the tournament final.
Tendulkar, Dravid, and Sehwag’s effigies burnt after India lost to Bangladesh in the 2007 World Cup
One of the lowest points of Indian cricket was the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean when a star-studded team crashed out in the first round itself after managing a solitary win against Bermuda. Hoping to go one better than the 2003 edition and win the whole thing, India suffered a huge upset when they lost to Bangladesh in their opening game.
Fans didn’t take the defeat lightly once more. Players’ homes were attacked with stones, and their effigies were set ablaze across the country. Senior players like Captain Rahul Dravid, Sahin Tendulkar, and Virender Sehwag were the main targets of this anger. Indian cricketers found it quite demoralising to be at the receiving end of this rage.
The under-construction house of Mahendra Singh Dhoni was also vandalised following the same match. The supporters, led by Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) activists, urged the state government to revoke the land given to Dhoni. A few pillars and several walls on the property were damaged by the mob.
Yuvraj Singh’s house pelted with stones after India lost the 2014 T20 World Cup Final
After getting through to the final of the World T20 in 2014, Indian fans were expecting another World Cup for Team India. As Virat Kohli continued his good form in the tournament in the final, a win was very much looking like a possibility. However, Yuvraj Singh, who was returning after fighting cancer, got stuck at the other end and could only score 11 runs off 21 balls played.
Sri Lanka chased down the victory target with ease after that, and Yuvraj Singh’s knock received harsh criticism. His performance was seen as the reason India lost to Sri Lanka as he failed to generate any momentum in the middle and late overs.
Following the defeat, many people gathered outside his home in Chandigarh and shouted slogans against him asking him to retire. Some people even hurled stones at his house to express their anger over his performance.
Jasprit Bumrah trolled after No Ball in 2017 Champions Trophy
Jasprit Bumrah, the Indian fast bowler, was widely chastised for bowling a ‘No Ball’ during the ICC Champions Trophy final in 2017. Bumrah picked up the wicket of Pakistani opener Fakhar Zaman early on only to find that he has overstepped resulting in the No Ball. Fakhar went on to score a blistering century and played a pivotal role in handing Pakistan the Champions Trophy.
Following the defeat, Bumrah became an open target for trolls on social media for his ‘No Ball.’ Memes and jokes about Bumrah swamped Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
The matter escalated when the Jaipur Traffic Police used the No Ball as part of their traffic awareness advertising. Following that, Bumrah criticized Jaipur Traffic Police for using memes featuring him. “Well done Jaipur traffic police,” he tweeted, “this shows how much respect you get after giving your best for the country.”
Fans must keep their emotions in check while criticising cricketers after a poor performance or a mistake on the field. However, it doesn’t always happen and some fans do go overboard with their criticism. Propagandists sitting in India and their counterparts in Pakistan want to show that Indians attack only people from “minority religions”, like Mohammad Shami or Arshdeep, for making mistakes on the field. The reality though is that as we have seen, not even the God of cricket Sachin Tendulkar is safe from the wrath of disappointed Indian cricket fans.
