Opinion isn’t an agenda: Indian cricket fandom must do better
A few journalists and former cricketers who suggested after the first T20I in Durham that it was perhaps time for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to get a look-in have since been relentlessly trolled and abused on social media. From name-calling to outright abuse, things have bordered on the ridiculous. Some have even penned emotional rants suggesting we should now be happy because Sanju Samson’s family is supposedly mourning the injustice meted out to him.
This toxicity exposes the ugly side of India’s cricket fandom. First things first, we are entitled to our opinions, fair and square. As far as I know, none of us is on anyone’s payroll except that of our own employers. In my case, RevSportz pays Rohit Juglan, Subhayan Chakraborty and I. No player does or ever will. Labelling us as PR is absolute nonsense.
We express our views based on our experience as journalists and on what we genuinely believe. The same applies to former players. Anyone is free to disagree, and if they believe Samson should have played or been given more opportunities, that is a perfectly valid viewpoint that deserves respect.
What is not acceptable is calling us “scumbags” or hurling other abuse. That is exactly where social media goes off the rails, and precisely what the ICC sought to address through its mission against online toxicity.
Who is this anonymous fan, hidden behind the veil of social media, to question a journalist’s integrity or even their parentage? Yet this kind of filth is allowed to circulate unchecked. Such gutter-level abuse, which makes any reasonable person cringe, continues to be amplified. That is where platforms lose credibility, and it borders on disgrace.
The opening slot is a perfect subject for healthy debate. Personally, I believe the Indian management were right to start with Samson and Abhishek Sharma in Ireland, and equally right to persist with them in Durham. But with Samson struggling for runs, they turned to Vaibhav. I agree with that decision. Some Samson supporters may not, and that is their right. But to portray it as an agenda is simply mistaken and, in fact, does Samson a disservice.
Former cricketers such as Ravi Shastri had advocated giving Vaibhav an opportunity as early as the Ireland series. What possible agenda could he have against Samson? Sunil Gavaskar also wanted to see Vaibhav play, and there is nothing unreasonable about that either.
This victim complex, for want of a better phrase, is becoming the bane of our fandom. We are far too quick to play the victim card. Samson helped India win a T20 World Cup. He is a supremely talented cricketer who has been part of the national set-up for years. If, after a run of poor form, he has had to sit out to give someone else an opportunity, that does not make him a victim or a fallen hero.
No injustice has been done, and there is no place for melodrama. Indian cricket fans need to grow up and smell the coffee. Living in a world of imagined conspiracies does neither the game nor the player any favours.
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