5 instances when ill-treatment of Indian cricketers angered fans

The Ganguly-Chappell saga became a national debate as fans protested vehementlySometimes what religion or education cannot do, sports can do that. Such is the passion of sports that it can break down thousands of boundaries and unite people. Case in point being cricket in India. For a country where the sport is worshipped, it is hardly surprising that the cricketers who play the game are also equally loved.In this cricket-crazy nation, fans are always reactive. When the Indian team fails to perform, the fans let their displeasure be known while the team’s return with a trophy is also duly celebrated. Similarly, when their loved cricketers are mistreated or accused by foreign individuals or organisations, fans do not take it well. Particularly in the era of social media when everything is just a click away, Indian fans do not let any insult pass away without shaming the wrong-doer.Here is taking a look at five incidents when the ill-treatment of Indian cricketers took the Indian media and fans by storm:

#1 Sachin Tendulkar vs British Airways

Sachin Tendulkar’s recent tryst with the British Airways has been trending worldwide

When someone decides to ill-treat the God of Cricket, Indian fans do not forgive that. Easily the most respected and idolised man in the country, Sachin Tendulkar’s recent tryst with the British Airways has been trending worldwide.

Yesterday morning, Tendulkar tweeted to British Airways, complaining about their 'bad service' and 'don't care attitude'. In his tweets, the Maestro said that his family member's British Airways ticket did not get confirmed even though the airline had seats available. To make matters worse, the airline carried his luggage to the wrong destination.

Both outbursts were retweeted more than three thousand times by the sportsman's 8.41 million followers on the microblogging site. Realising that British Airways had made a faux pas, they tried to make amends. Except they made things worse.

British Airways, in response, tweeted back to him asking him for his details — his full name, address and the baggage reference number. Yes, his full name.

Furious that the airline did not know their idol's name, Tendulkar's fans decided they weren't taking any of this. Some angry twitterati asked the airline if they were in complete control of their actions. “Are you drunk?” was one of the more polite inquiries.

Some even asked the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently in the UK, to bring back the Koh-i-Noor - one of the world's biggest diamonds, discovered in India but now part of the British Crown Jewels - along with “God's luggage.”

#2 When Sourav Ganguly was dropped by Greg Chappell

Angry fans of Sourav Ganguly burnt effigies of Greg Chappell in protest

Considered one of the lowest point in Indian cricket, Australian Greg Chappell’s stint as the Indian coach had multiple repercussions. His constant cutting and trimming of the team, the treatment he meted out to several senior players and most importantly, his dropping of former India captain Sourav Ganguly.

The amount of outrage that it incited, particularly in the eastern part of the country was unprecedented. Ganguly’s leadership came under a cloud due to poor batting form and the public dispute with the new coach. The situation worsened after Chappell's critical report regarding Ganguly to the Indian cricket board was leaked to the media.

That cost the Bengal Tiger his place in the team.

Angry fans of former India skipper Sourav Ganguly burnt effigies of Chappell in protest of the non-inclusion of the Bengal boy in the Test against Pakistan in 2005-2006. They termed the move as a 'repeated humiliation' and 'injustice' to Ganguly.

The protestors held forth placards saying, “Why was Ganguly dropped?" and "Greg Chappell, go back." Irate Ganguly fans also conducted mock funeral rituals for Chappell and national selector Kiran More. Such was the passion to see the former cricketer be reinstated.

#3 Maria Sharapova\'s ill-fated question

Maria Sharapova was mercilessly trolled on social media by fans for not knowing about Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar, who? Now, that is a question one should never ask.

The world may see him as the best-ever batsman of his generation, but world number four and tennis superstar Maria Sharapova didn’t know who Tendulkar is. Tendulkar was in the Royal Box to watch Sharapova's battle out with American Alison Riske in Wimbledon last year.

Considering the fact that Tendulkar is quite a regular visitor at Wimbledon and good friends with Roger Federer, it was mildly surprising that Sharapova was oblivious of a man who has broken almost every batting record in cricket.

Fans naturally did not spare the tennis icon, even though she is usually a loved sportswoman in India. When it comes to the Master Blaster, nothing can be pardoned.

The Russian incurred the wrath of Indian cricket fans as they took to her Facebook page in droves to make sure she becomes familiar with their idol. Her every post was littered with comments, with many simply posting the former Indian batsman’s phenomenal run-scoring statistics.

It was a merciless onslaught but it didn’t stop there. The sharpest scorn for Sharapova was being expressed on Twitter, where the hashtag #WhoIsMariaSharapova was trending.

#4 The Monkeygate incident

The Monkeygate scandal had the potential to forever cease India-Australia cricket

This incident is one that cricket lovers would love to forget. One of the ugliest encounters to have happened in the history of cricket that questioned the spirit of the game, raising charges of racial discrimination.

On the third day of the second test at Sydney, Harbhajan, batting with Sachin Tendulkar, edged a Brett Lee snorter over the slips for four. Harbhajan patted Lee’s backside with his bat saying, “Hard luck.” Symonds found this unacceptable and decided to intervene.

During the exchanges the Australian thought Harbhajan had used the word “monkey,” a word which is racially abusive for Symond’s, the only non-white player of the Aussie team. He was then joined by Matthew Hayden and the rest of the team who claimed to hear the abuse as well.

At the end of the Test match, match referee Mike Procter listened to the testimony of Hayden, Symonds, Ponting, Gilchrist, Tendulkar and Harbhajan. He stated that the Indian spinner would be banned for three Test matches. Additionally, his final report included the following words that the Indians found extremely objectionable, “I believe one group is telling the truth.”

This verdict was severely condemned in India. It angered the fans to no end because it seemed that the discrimination was carried out against the Indians. What incensed the millions of fans both Indian and non-Indian was that Sachin Tendulkar’s verdict was not accepted. In effect, Tendulkar has been branded a liar by the match referee and no one heard the Indian side of the story.

Later, Harbhajan’s three-Test ban was overturned because of inconclusive evidence by Judge Hansen. He was fined 50% of his match fee for using abusive language (which happened to be a Hindi slang, not monkey).

#5 Tendulkar ball tampering/multiple bans for Indians

Sachin Tendulkar’s allegation of ball tampering cause a huge uproar among the fans

The fifth and final day of the second Test between South Africa and India in Port Elizabeth in November 2001 started a row that could potentially tear world cricket apart on racial lines.

At the heart of the furore was match referee Mike Denness, a Scot who had captained England. Two incidents in the game had attracted his attention.

The first surrounded over-enthusiastic appealing, orchestrated by Harbhajan Singh, expanded on by several team-mates and not checked by Sourav Ganguly, India's captain. The second centred on allegations that Sachin Tendulkar, a player with an unblemished record, had been found tampering with the seam of the ball.

On the third day Tendulkar had bowled four overs of gentle medium pace but had almost immediately started swinging the ball more than any other bowler. When the camera zoomed in to see his grip, on two occasions he was spotted working on the seam of the ball with the thumb and forefinger of his left hand.

He was only cleaning the ball but to Denness it seemed illegal. Denness informed the Maestro would be suspended for a year, on charges of ball tampering. Ganguly was to be given a similar suspended punishment for not controlling his team.

In punishing six people from one team, he was immediately accused of racism, while the general public were outraged. Former cricketers spoke up against the injustice and fans and media slandered the referee for his short-sighted agenda.