In the modern and advanced world of technology, where bringing people together is easily possible, the connection between the fans and a sportsperson has grown in leaps and bounds. In the game of cricket where 22 players battle it out on the field playing for glory of their respective teams and countries , their achievements seems empty without the support of the fans cheering them at the peak of their voices in the stadium.
Fans of cricketers are indeed a curious case studies though. Where sometimes they cheer on the tip of their voices on the achievements of their favorite players on the other hand they also dont look back in hurling taunts and comments when a player’s performances dip. The toxicity of fans loving their favorite players had grown to such a level nowadays so much that they tend to follow everything their player does right from having hairstyles and tattoos to mimic their favorite cricketers celebration styles too.
In a modern day cricket where the fast paced game is becoming the rage to watch for, cricketers are known for their on field gags apart from the achievements they achieve on the cricket field. These on field gags in the form of celebrations from batters on reaching their milestones or the character shown by a bowler after taking a wicket becomes quite famous amongst the fans watching the game.
However in the game of cricket where 2 teams compete against each other , fan groups supporting the opposite team often finds the opposition celebrations weird and in the age of growing social media platforms like Facebook , X(formerly Twitter) and Instagram they resort to abuse the opposition player on his behavior to a level which is disgraceful for a player.
South African left arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi has been vocal about the same disgraced behavior from the Indian fans watching the game after his iconic shoe celebration on dismissing Suryakumar Yadav on 56 in the 2nd T20I of the recently concluded T20I series versus South Africa at Gqeberha.
“I had so much abuse hurled at me” – Tabraiz Shamsi recalls aftermath of his shoe celebration
South Africa’s limited-overs specialist Tabraiz Shamsi recently stated that he received online abuse from Indian fans for his shoe celebration during the recent 2nd T20I against India in Gqeberha. The left-arm wrist-spinner said that people even targeted his wife and family, and the situation got way out of hand.
Shamsi performed his celebration, where he holds his shoe to his ear as if on a call, after dismissing Suryakumar Yadav in the 2nd T20I for 56 runs. He took to his official handle on X (formerly Twitter) later and clarified that he meant no disrespect towards the batter.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Shamsi stated that the behavior by the Indian fans was totally uncalled for, elaborating:
“People took it in a negative way; they thought it was disrespectful. I had so much abuse hurled at me. It was probably the worst it’s ever been. There was also abuse hurled at my wife. I didn’t appreciate that. It’s uncalled for. It’s fine if you want to have a dig at the players, but to involve family and say nasty things, that pushes it to another level.”
The 33-year-old bowled exceptionally well in the rain-marred encounter, finishing with figures of 4-0-18-1. The Proteas later won the game by five wickets, chasing down a revised target of 152 runs in 15 overs with seven balls to spare.
“I feel that if players don’t say anything about it, then people think they have free license”
Talking about online abuse that athletes receive from fans, Shamsi stated that more cricketers should take a stand against such behavior. He added
“I feel that if players don’t say anything about it, then people think they have free licence. More people need to speak up and say it’s not OK. Yes, we’re all trying our best. Yes, your team might not win or you might not agree with certain things. But you need to behave like a human being. You can’t carry on like an animal.”
Known for being vocal about his beliefs, the Proteas spinner recently also questioned the ICC for stopping Usman Khawaja from wearing shoes to support Palestine victims amid their conflict with Israel in the Gaza strip.
Hence the above incident as stated by the player just reminds us of the thin line that needs to be in control when we as fans support a player making a sport of cricket which we love a beautiful game to watch and the right use of the ever growing social media platforms in support of a player.