10 crazy things fans have done for their favorite Indian cricketers
The kind of crazy fan following and adulation that superstar Indian cricketers get is unmatched. The love and worship of the admirers has given the sport of cricket a whole new dimension in India.
Be it traveling miles to meet their favorite Indian cricketers or worshipping them in ways that can go from being rather cute to extremely bizarre, Indian cricket fans have done it all, and can be expected to keep breaking barriers.
In today’s trying times of the pandemic, the real value of the Indian cricket fan has come to the fore. Playing in front of empty stadiums without supporters gives a feeling of emptiness to both players and cricket viewers. There is something divine about Indian fans screaming in stadiums that drives Indian cricketers to perform.
Indian cricketers and fans: A special connection
In this feature, we dig deep into the psyche of Indian fans to find out how far they can go to meet their favorite Indian cricketers.
#1 Cycling to meet Sachin Tendulkar
Sudhir Kumar Gautam needs no introduction. He is a bonafide fan of legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. Until the pandemic struck he was seen at most games in India, supporting the team. He paints his body in the Indian tricolor for every match he attends.
Earlier, he used to write ‘Tendulkar 10’ on his chest (10 was Tendulkar’s jersey number) but post the Indian cricketer’s retirement, he has changed it to ‘miss you Tendulkar 10’. In 2002, Gautam cycled all the way from Bihar to Jamshedpur to watch his favorite cricketer play, but Tendulkar got injured.
Next time, he cycled all the way to Mumbai, traveling around 2400 kilometres, hoping to meet his idol. And, when Tendulkar heard about Gautam’s story, he invited his super fan to meet him. After that, Tendulkar started providing Gautam tickets for matches held in India.
And when India won the World Cup in 2011, the Master Blaster invited Gautam into the Indian dressing room, and the two posed with the trophy.
#2 Fan gets a transfer, just to meet MS Dhoni
In the most recent instance of fan’s wish of meeting his favorite Indian cricketer being fulfilled, an MS Dhoni admirer was able to meet the former India captain under intriguing circumstances.
Dev, one of the members of the MeenaBagh Staff, got to spend some time with Dhoni and also got the former Indian cricketer’s autograph on his mobile cover. Dhoni and family were recently holidaying in Ratnari in Himachal Pradesh and were staying at the MeenaBagh Hotel.
Dev, who was working as a staff member at MeenaBagh Shimla, asked for a transfer to MeenaBagh Ratnari so he could play steward to his favorite cricketer.
In an Instagram post, MeenaBagh revealed that Dev had tried in vain to meet Dhoni in 2008 when the cricketer visited Rohru (Himachal) for a tournament. He wanted an autograph but got the police baton instead!
Dev says his phone cover, where Dhoni left his autograph, will remain unchanged forever!
#3 This Virat Kohli fan with 16 tattoos of Indian captain
30-something Pintu Behra is a small-scale contractor in Berhampur, Odisha. That did not stop him from inking 16 tattoos of star Indian cricketer and current captain Virat Kohli. One of the tattoos is Kohli’s jersey number 18, which is on his back.
Behra saved money and spent more than Rs 1 lakh for these tattoos. After waiting for five years to meet the famous Indian cricketer, the fan’s wish came true before the first Test of the three-match series between India and South Africa in Vizag in 2019.
After finishing his training, Kohli asked the security to let Behra into the players' area. The latter told TOI about his meeting with the Indian captain:
“Kohli waved his hand and asked me to come inside. He was smiling. I was shirtless. He shook my hand and hugged me. I couldn’t say a thing in front of him. I started crying and said ‘I waited for four years sir. Thank you, sir’. He saw all the tattoos and counted them. He was saying ‘wow...wonderful’. He checked every tattoo. He was so so happy.”
#4 Fan sketches Rohit Sharma
Team India opener and Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma has a loyal fan following, like most of his fellow Indian cricketers. With the COVID-19 pandemic hitting the world last year, the sporting calendar came to a halt.
Even when cricket resumed a while later, fans were not allowed to enter the stadiums. A Rohit Sharma fan, however, decided to use social media to express his admiration for the senior Indian cricketer.
A Twitter user named Omkar Patil shared a wonderful sketch of Rohit in the Mumbai Indians jersey. Patil uploaded the post with the caption:
“Sketch of @ImRo45 sir✍️....by me How's it... waiting for reply @ImRo45 Sir.”
The sketch won a lot of appreciation on social media.