India won seven matches in a row before losing the semi-final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 to Australia. Despite the fact that they had broken multiple records along the way, a section of Indian fans felt that anything short of defending the title is unforgivable. Shiamak Unwalla wonders whether it is time the Indian cricket team deserves a better class of fans. An open letter to MS Dhoni
In ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 India had got off to a slow start, losing to KwaZulu-Natal in a warm-up match and getting thrashed by Australia in their second match of the World Cup. India’s loyal fans felt that it was important to tell the cricketers to pull their socks up. So they did what any sane, logical person would do: they threw stones at Mohammad Kaif’s house. Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar: Similarities between the two India vs Australia ICC Cricket World Cup knockout matches
Kaif was not the only target. Effigies were burnt and outrages were voiced. It took a figure of mythic proportions — Sachin Tendulkar — to calm the masses. Tendulkar had to beg for support, for mercy, from the same fans that elevated the cricketers to the levels of gods and superheroes. The fans were pacified, and luckily for the Indian cricket team, they reached the final. India vs Australia Semi-Final ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 at Sydney: Highlights
Flash forward to 2007; India went down to Bangladesh and were lambasted by all. They scored 413 in the next match and became heroes again. Then they lost to Sri Lanka, crashing out of the World Cup. Greg Chappell was the man targeted on that occasion, so the cricketers themselves managed to survive the inevitable outpour of hate and anguish.
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When India won ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, their status as meta-humans was once again set in stone. Yuvraj Singh was hailed almost unanimously by the fans as the greatest of them. Then came the ICC World T20 2014. Yuvraj was out of sorts. He scored a match-winning fifty against Australia but failed to put bat on ball against Sri Lanka in the final thanks to some phenomenal death bowling by Nuwan Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga.
So, of course, the Indian cricket fans who hailed him three years ago stoned his house, leaving his innocent sister-in-law —alone at home at the time — terrified. It didn’t matter that he had battled cancer and won the Man of the Tournament award at ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 simultaneously. He had dared to struggle against top-quality bowling in one match, which was unforgivable. Decoding the MS Dhoni enigma: ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
India lost to Australia in the 2015 semi-final after winning each of their first seven games convincingly. They were outplayed on the day. One day. But they were outplayed. This, as the Indian fan knows, is just not done. So effigies were burnt. Pictures were trampled. Anushka Sharma was abused, threatened, and disrespected. The commitment and integrity of cricketers was questioned. Never mind that the captain had sacrificed being present for his first-born child in order to stay with the team. Never mind this team had been on the road for three months. They dared to have an off-day, and the Indian fan felt he was justified in desecrating the team. Anushka Sharma, you are to be blamed for India’s loss against Australia in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
South Africa lost their semi-final too. South African fans wept with AB de Villiers, Morne Morkel, Faf du Plessis, Dale Steyn, and the rest. But they did not lash out. They backed their adored Proteas. They loved them. They still love them. That is the difference between Indian fans and what fans really should be. Indian fans are not cricket fans. They are fans of a victorious (this is a key word) Indian team. Times Now, do us a favour and shut up: You are embarrassing Indian media in front of the world
It is time Indian cricket got a new class of fans. A distinction should be made now, between true fans — fans who appreciate good cricket regardless of the result — and the mindless, ethically challenged warmongers who beat their chests and share in Indian cricket’s glory, and then spit on the face of Indian cricket after the odd failure.
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek and Cricket fanatic. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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