This week, Nafeesa Attari, a private school teacher in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, was fired from her job – and later arrested – after she posted “We won” on her WhatsApp status after Pakistan beat India last Sunday. In post-colonial India and Pakistan, cricket fans dip into the deep waters of performative patriotism, and hypernationalism comes into play. It’s never just a game between the two nuclear-armed countries, which was once a single team of pre-partition India that used to travel abroad for test matches. Right now, it’s way more jingoistic, with an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ narrative,” said sports journalist Sharda Ugra. “Today, fandom has reached a level where fans believe they have to perform a particular role and act a particular way. It needs to be noted that a cricket match between India and Pakistan is not a simple affair. But at the same time, the dark side of it is just vicious and wild.” There’s a certain quality to the discourse now. The medium has been a boon in a way that there is more information and analysis on cricket. “Times may have changed, but social media has definitely exacerbated this toxicity. This never used to happen before,” she said. “Now, when the opposition scores, there’s silence. In fact, one ranking puts India right on top for having the most dedicated cricket fans in the world. Cricketers receive most of the country’s prestigious civilian honours as well. For India, a country of 1.3 billion people, cricket is almost a religion, one introduced to the country by its British colonisers. Ĭricket has 2.5 billion followers across the world, according to one sports ranking – second only to soccer/football. In India, superfandom is highly visible, be it building temples for superstars or going on a hunger strike in order to meet them. Sports fandom is widely considered to be a psychologically healthy activity that creates communities and gives a sense of belonging. “But I also feel like life is very good when I’m one with cricket.” “My parents, wife and daughter support me,” he said. Hari, a marketing executive who works with a cement company, said that cricket saved him at a time when he was bedridden for more than a year after a road accident. They might love and support their teams just as much, but they make themselves a part of the fandom by building their entire lives around their favourite team or player, turning up at every match possible even in extreme conditions, and often choosing an avatar to distinguish themselves from the rest of the crowd. Harshal Patel is a welcome addition with his sincere efforts but the middle order still remains a bit iffy as it didn't perform up to expectation in any of the games.Ī few like Ruturaj Gaikwad and Avesh Khan went untested but the skipper will surely use all his options going forward.īut what he has shown like his predecessor Virat Kohli is ability to walk the talk with performances that his mates will look up to.Superfans are unlike ordinary fans. He bowled steadily and needs more game time to become a middle-order enforcer having been a top-order player. Venkatesh Iyer has shown potential and needs to be persisted with. The New Zealand team looked bone tired after a gruelling T20 World Cup campaign and the result won't be a fair reflection of the team's capabilities as they went through the motions for the better part of the three games.įor India, who were aiming to reset the button, the series win will certainly give them a few pointers going forward.įor Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid, this series was about checking what kind of ammunition they have going forward.īhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravichandran Ashwin's return to form in white-ball cricket augurs well as there is no substitute for experience. Photo: Twitter/BCCIĪxar Patel (3/9) bowled accurately and also got one to turn as his three wickets in the powerplay literally ended New Zealand's resistance and the rest was a mere formality. Axar Patel, left, celebrates with Harshal Patel after taking a wicket.
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