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The world of social media, more often than not, carries a storyline of its own pertaining to whatever action transpires on and off the cricket field. With several cricketers being active members of various social media websites, banters, discussions, and to an extent, arguments happen to be a daily dose for a social media buff.
The increasing familiarity with one’s favourite cricketers through the direct engagement that the platforms of Facebook, Twitter etc. provide, makes one believe that their favourite cricketer is only a text away.
Tapping into the endless parallel world that runs in front of us, on our laptop screens and mobiles, we bring to you the weekly dose of IPL cricketing action that took place on the social media.
The Sanjay Manjrekar-Kieron Pollard controversy
First flare-up of IPL 10 was when Kieron Pollard of Mumbai Indians called out commentator Sanjay Manjrekar for saying on air that the West Indian did not have the ‘brains’ to bat higher up the order.
Against KKR at Wankhede Stadium, Pollard came in to bat at No 6 and scored a run-a-ball 17, while chasing Kolkata’s 179. When Manjrekar was asked which position he thought suited Pollard, he said, “When I look at Pollard, I look at him as more a six-seven-overs-left-in-the-innings batsman.
“Whether he will be able to bat at No 3 and whether he has the versatility to pick up the singles if the boundaries are not coming, does he have the range as a batsman? I don’t think so. My view is, maybe six or seven overs left in the innings is the perfect time for Pollard to come in.”
Pollard misunderstood Manjrekar’s ‘range’ to brains, and tweeted,
However, Manjrekar never used the word ‘brain’ or ‘brainless’ for Pollard and tweeted back,
Pollard is yet to reply back to the former India batsman, an apology maybe?
Sachin Tendulkar loves to watch Hardik Pandya bat!
The Pandya brothers – Hardik and Pandya – are enroute fame, in the IPL at least. With the form that they are in, they could seen replace Irfan and Yusuf Pathan to become new poster boys from Gujarat. Hardik’s pyrotechnics against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium saw him notch up a 23-ball 29 to take his side to a win.
The way the 22-year-old from Baroda anchored the innings impressed Sachin Tendulkar, who took to Twitter to praise Hardik’s heroics.
Virat Kohli’s announcement of his comeback date
Indian star batsman Virat Kohli was out of action for the first three games of Royal Challengers Bangalore after sustaining a shoulder injury during the third Test against Australia in Ranchi. But he took to Instagram to announce his return for the team’s clash against Mumbai Indians which Kohli-led RCB lost.
Kohli posted a video of him on Instagram sweating it out in the gym and lifting weights, a proof of his excellent fitness. Though RCB lost, Kohli announced himself in his first IPL game of the season with a half century.
A day after the match, he again posted pictures on Instagram, in which he is seen enjoying his off-day and watching the KKR vs SRH game.
"An off day and watching the ipl games is always a good feeling. Recovering from soreness of playing after a month," Kohli's Instagram post read.
Gautam Gambhir’s inspiring tweet
The Kolkata Knight Riders’ skipper may be aggressive on the field with his astute leadership attributes. But, off the field, he comes across as a generous and inspiring person. Gambhir took to Twitter to reveal KKR’s biggest supporter who is Harshul Goenka – who is a great inspiration for the former Indian opener.
His tweet read thus –
In another tweet for Harshul, Gambhir wrote,
So who is Harshul? Harshul is a differently-abled 26-year-old who is recognized as a big cricket fan. Every time team India or KKR play at the Eden Gardens, corporate tickets are reserved by cricketers for Harshul, his mother and his two attendants!
