ICC Champions Trophy 2017: Mashrafe Mortaza slams taunting cartoons against India ahead of semi-finals
What’s the story?
Following yet another instance of derogatory cartoons and memes about India from Bangladesh cricket fans, Mashrafe Mortaza slammed the actions but stated that these actions are completely out of the players’ control.
Talking ahead of Bangladesh's semi-final clash against India, he said, “These things are not expected and not in the control of players. A match against India is just another game for us and if these cartoons are meant to lift our convictions levels, they just don’t work.”
The cartoons have been pouring in on social media ever since Australia lost to England in Group A and India beat South Africa in Group B, thereby setting up a Bangladesh-India semi-final clash at the ICC Champions Trophy.
The Bangladesh captain is clearly not happy looking at these posts and believes that they have no positive impact on the psyche of his team.
In case you didn't know...
This is not the first time when Bangladesh cricket fanatics have vehemently attacked Indian cricket riding on the backs of social media anonymity. When the two sides were to clash in the Asia Cup final last year, a rather unskillful photoshop of Taskin Ahmed carrying MS Dhoni's severed head was promoted incessantly by these fans.
India will face Bangladesh at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground later today (June 15) and the winner of this contest will face Pakistan in the final to have a shot at winning the big trophy.
Bangladesh fans have taken up various social media platforms to show support for their team in a rather tasteless and deprecatory manner. Cartoons of a scared dog with Indian flag superimposed on it being chased by a tiger with a Bangladesh flag being superimposed on it are being shared and re-shared by them.
Also read: Former skipper says India clash is Bangladesh’s biggest chance at glory
The details
Commenting on the pressure of being in the semi-final of an ICC tournament, Mortaza stated that India has a lot more on stake than Bangladesh. He added that the pressure on India will be higher considering the country’s huge population and craze for cricket.
However, he was quick to add that both the teams are sure to face the heat in such a big contest. He also believes that if his team takes it as a semi-final, they will be under a lot of pressure and hence, they should try and think of it as a normal game of cricket.
What next?
You would hope that both the teams have been able to forget about superficial things like mindless internet trolls and that the players will step onto the field with a positive mindset today.
The last time these two teams met in limited over cricket was in the 2016 World T20 when India constrained Bangladesh from scoring two runs in three deliveries and won the match by one run. And for all cricket fan’s sake, let’s hope today’s match will be just as dramatic and full of action.
Author’s take
While Mortaza truly does not have any control over what his countrymen do on social media platforms, the posts they are sharing have touched the highest level of repugnance. It is disheartening to see this kind of behaviour from cricket fans.
While Bangladesh’s cricket has grown a lot in the last few years, the psyche of most of its fans remains bitterly immature.
Also read: Bangladesh camp identifies Yuvraj Singh as India’s weakest link