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 on various social media websites, banter, discussions, and to an extent, arguments are a daily occurrence.
The increasing familiarity with one’s favourite cricketers through the direct engagement that the platforms of Facebook and Twitter provide makes one believe that their favourite cricketer is only a text away.
We bring to you the weekly dose of IPL cricketing action that took place on social media.
Hardik Pandya’s fanboy moment with Ab de Villiers
The Indian Premier League is all about ‘fan moments.’ Be it among fans and their IPL stars, or IPL stars and their cricketing idols. Several young players get to play alongside their cricketing heroes, and it was a similar moment for Mumbai Indians all-rounder Hardik Pandya who clicked a selfie with RCB batsman Chris Gayle after the match between MI and RCB.
It was a fan moment for Hardik, who uploaded the selfie on Instagram with the caption, “Amazing person! The superman from 'CRIC-TON’
Hardik Pandya, along with brother Krunal Pandya, is enjoying a great run with the Mumbai Indians this season, who are the current table toppers.
Virat Kohli’s adorable selfie with Harbhajan Singh’s daughter
Indian captain Virat Kohli shared an adorable selfie with veteran bowler Harbhajan Singh's daughter Hinaya on May 2. The RCB skipper, who isn't having a good run as his IPL team isn't performing well, took some time off of the ongoing league to share a selfie on his Instagram account.
“Baby Hinaya looking for something in my beard ?????. And I am surprised how can someone be so beautiful and cuteee. What a blessing to @harbhajan3 @geetabasra. God bless you all,” he wrote on his Instagram account.
Harbhajan married actress Geeta Basra in October 2015 and the couple have a baby named Hinaya. Virat seemed to have been bowled by the 1-year old’s cuteness.
Earlier last year, the 28-year old had shared a similar selfie with former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's daughter Ziva.
Steve Smith’s birthday post for teammate Dan Christian
Rising Pune Supergiant captain Steve Smith took to Twitter to wish a happy birthday to RPS and Australian teammate Daniel Christian. He shared a link to his Instagram account on which he uploaded a picture of Christian’s caked face with a caption that read “Happy birthday @danchristian54 great to see the customary cake in the face routine here in India. Have a great day mate.
Few days ago in the match between KKR and RPS, Christian got into trouble with the match referee after swapping his jersey with that of Ben Stokes’ when he came out to play.
“Put my shirt out to dry with @stokesy after the bowling innings, and grabbed the wrong one before I went out to bat, much to the ire of the match referee,” wrote Christian on Instagram later, and tweeted out the same as well.
Sachin Tendulkar’s special tweet for Rishabh Pant
Delhi Daredevils have boasted of some of the biggest names in IPL’s 10-year history – Yuvraj Singh, Kevin Pietersen, Virender Sehwag, David Warner and Gautam Gambhir.
But on Thursday night at the Kotla, a 19-year-old guided the team to their greatest-ever run chase. Rishabh Pant smashed a quickfire 97 with the help of Sanju Samson’s 61 to chase Gujarat’s 208 with 15 balls to spare.
And while he may have been caught on 97, the youngster, with his gritty innings, had made enough of a mark to have his idol Sachin Tendulkar lauding his effort on Twitter:
“One of the best Innings I have seen in the IPL & that includes all 10 seasons. @RishabPant777” Tweeted the Master Blaster.
Sourav Ganguly also praised the Pant-Samson duo in his tweet:
Dhoni’s airport video that went viral
The Rising Pune Supergiant’s official Instagram page uploaded a video of the Pune team waiting at the Pune airport lounge before flying to Kolkata for their game against KKR which they won. In no time the video went viral as it showed MS Dhoni very humbly playing with Imran Tahir’s son on the floor of the airport.
Ever since he gave up the captaincy of the Indian cricket team, MSD has been indulging in more friendly interactions with fans and revealing his humble side.
Touched by Mahi’s gesture, fans took to Twitter to hail Dhoni for his simplicity.
Earlier when Tahir was asked how it felt to play alongside Dhoni, he was quoted as saying, “I am sure it is every cricketer's dream to play with MS Dhoni. It's a great opportunity. Thanks to IPL, I got into Pune and am playing with him. It's going really well with him and I hope it carries on.”
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