It’s no secret that cricket is treated like a religion in our nation, with millions of followers. From celebrating each win to making jokes about random things, fans take their favorite sport quite seriously. However, sometimes, these jokes just go out of control.
During a match last evening, Virat Kohli had to step in and stop the fans as they were chanting Sara Tendulkar’s name to tease Shubman Gill.
During the India vs Sri Lanka match at Wankhede, Sri Lankan batters, Charith Asalanka and Angelo Matthews offered resilient resistance for a duration of 6.2 overs.
At this particular time, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill were positioned side by side in the slip cordon, while the fans chimed in with different slogans.
When the crowd began teasing Shubman Gill with the Sara Sara chants, Virat Kohli made a courteous request for them to desist and then gestured towards Shubman Gill, encouraging the crowd to chant his name. The crowd understood and started chanting the cricketer’s name.
While chanting and making jokes about the cricketers is not a crime, these incidents quickly take a bizarre and sexist turn. When a cricketer doesn’t perform well on the field, the fans start blaming and criticizing their girlfriends or wives – as they have done with Virat Kohli and KL Rahul in the past.