Social media has proven to be a powerful tool over the last 5 years. The rise of Facebook and Twitter have given a bigger platform for people to express their views and speak their mind. A rising trend among fans of sports teams across the world is to take to these platforms to express their concerns and share their happiness about the team.
This has been welcomed by most players and teams, who have taken to social media so as to be able to interact with their fans in some way. However, there is always the downside. There is a certain group of people online who have decided to use the platform to abuse and spread hate about these teams. The Indian cricket team is no stranger to this, and has seen it’s fair share of it.
The Indian team, like any other sports team will not take hateful criticism and unconstructive negativity for motivation. In fact, it serves as the opposite. What drives the team is the fact that the fans show up in thousand no matter where we play in the world. Two outstanding examples of this are, when the team played 2 T20 internationals against the West Indies in the United States of America, where cricket is only growing as a sport, and yet the fans were there in waves of blue, and it made it that much easier to win, and to satisfy those fans.
And another example is the ICC Champions Trophy, recently concluded in England, where every time the Indian team played, it was almost like a home game due to the support. It is this passion with which the Indian team plays the game, and it is the same passion from the fans that drives the team to further heights.
There has been a lot of banter on Twitter, and the Indian team has quite a few cricketers who are active on social media, have, to their part engaged in light hearted exchanges with fans and other sportsmen alike. Unfortunately, there have been instances when very hateful things have been said about these people and their friends and families, thus, in certain cases even forcing them to retaliate, and this creating an unwanted situation.
Not to to get into it too much, but just to remind everyone about a certain tweet directed to then vice captain Virat Kohli after India’s semi-final exit from the ICC World Cup at Australia’s hands:
“I request to all the people to go n throw stones at the house of Anushka Sharma who is the main reason for the defeat of India. #AUSvIND”
The user who tweeted this has not been revealed for obvious reasons, but this is just one among the thousand of such things that are said on social media. However much these cricketers are idolised, they are human beings too, and have people close to them who they would hate to see are being insulted.
In this instance, Anushka Sharma being blamed for Virat Kohli’s dip in form because she was traveling with him during the tournament. It’s a very simple thing, such negative thoughts would never get through to the team on a positive level.
Right now, the team is in a transitional phase. Indian cricket’s, if not World Cricket’s most decorated captain just handed over the reins to Virat Kohli. It’s not an easy task. Not one bit. It’s so much easier to sit back and use social media to criticise and discourage these players. The team is looking to build a force that can conquer world cricket not just for the next 6 months to a year. They’re looking to dominate the sport the way the Australians did for almost a decade, and with the support of a billion people behind them, there’s not many things that can stop them.
There will be hiccups along the way. There will be losses. Some heartbreaking, and some not that bad. Just remember, every time the team loses a game, when all of us feel bad, the players feel 10 times worse, if not more, because they had to live it. And there’s nothing this team loves more than winning.
That’s something we all know very well. And if we dial down the hatred and try and buck this team up when it loses, and cheer like mad with them when they win, they, along with us, can be world beaters. If that’s not what all of us want as cricket fans, then get your blood checked. You’re definitely not #BLEEDINGBLUE.
