What Bangladeshi fans think of the Indian cricket team

The perfect picture

This is not something I would have liked to do, but then I have a habit of writing controversial things like Yuvraj Singh’s father, Yograj, has a habit of making nonsensical statements about MS Dhoni. So here I am, trying to make sense of a rather taboo subject: the opinions of Bangladeshi fans on the Indian cricket team.

From the exterior, it seems as though Bangladesh cricket fans hate the Indian cricket team more than Virender Sehwag hates CV-making etiquettes. And it is, in general, the truth – but there are also people here who have a different perspective on the Indian team.

To convey the intricacies of the situation, I am going to have to divide the fan base into three categories.

The India-hating populace

Some hate India more than they love their relatives

Legend has it that some of the people in this section are willing to sell their family rather than support the Indian cricket team – or so they claim – and this is something I am not really making up. The reason for such an insurmountable animosity varies from person to person, but I will just focus on the sporting aspect because of obvious reasons.

It doesn’t really matter against whom they are playing; just as long as India lose, all is fine with the world. And how can you really blame us for having such a mindset?

The fans of the Men in Blue don’t really give out the ideal fan sort of vibe that they, perhaps, claim to have. One has to go only as far as the social media after an India win to see how some of their fans react. Indeed, one of them among them is Virender Sehwag.

The man is as respectful towards India’s opponent as a male chauvinist is towards women. When a player of such a legendary status makes derogatory remarks on the opposition in the name of ‘banter’, the team that the man represented are bound to gain haters.

“Sehwag is a <a long combination of expletives that basically brings his entire family at one place>!” – Most Bangladeshi fans.

After all, who would want to see more disrespectful remarks coming out of a supposed legend? People like Sehwag are the ones that make the Indian cricket team an easy target to hate. And then they say that Bangladeshi fans are the worst.

Well, guess who showed us the way in the first place?

When asked an India-despising cricket fan about his thoughts on India, he said: “To be honest, **** India. They always take the moral high ground when they are actually the absolute worst set of fans the world has ever seen. They are to cricket what cancer is to mankind.”

This India-loathing populace comes up with the worst photoshops BEFORE a game and then end up making more edited pictures out of sadness after a loss. It is a disgusting mess because they always forget the basic rule: don’t taunt before the outcome of the game is determined for it always comes back to bite the back.

And it almost always does.

The India-loving enthusiasts

There is a good chance that at least one here is a Bangladeshi

Now, these people will actually support India over Bangladesh – I am not kidding, these people do exist in the country. They will cuss their own nation’s players and celebrate every Indian boundary like it was their wedding. Actually, that’s probably not a good analogy, but you get the point.

This section, however, is a ‘minority’ of sorts that doesn’t really have many people in it. Despite that, they are the anti-thesis of India-hating fans – obviously – and are extremists in their own way. They, in general, ridicule the Bangladesh team like Indians do and also possess a severe dislike for the Pakistan cricket team as well.

While they may not be many in numbers, they do have the ability to cause a storm by their controversial opinions – just like the one written below as said by a Bangladeshi Indian cricket team fan.

“These Bangladeshi fanboys think that their team is the best despite the fact that they have only just started winning. They think that they are good enough to compete with India when the truth is that they are not even fit to lace the boots of Virat Kohli.”

That’s a harsh overstatement, but it does the work of revealing the point I am trying to make.

The ones that can’t be bothered

These people look chilled

Finally, the last category is the one with people that can’t be bothered about this rivalry. Most of them are not even keen followers of the game but are likely to be found in front of the TV set when a high-octane clash involving Bangladesh is on it.

Some of the people here are trolls. While they support the Bangladesh cricket team, they aren’t hesitant to troll their own team as well – which, kind of, makes them misunderstood. The India-hating populace sees them as India lovers while the India-passionate folks disregard them as typical India-disrespecting imbeciles.

But they, in crude words, don’t really give a ***k. They just watch the game, make some troll posts about it on social media and then go back to minding their own business. Meanwhile, the other two sections are still arguing against each other vehemently, forgetting the fact that the ones for whom they are quarrelling aren’t even aware of their existence.

Verdict

I will try to be audacious here and assume that I am in a position to give a verdict, which is: while it is all fun and games as long it is confined to certain boundaries, it almost often gets so ugly that it doesn’t leave a good rapport on both sets of fans.  

Bangladesh are a team on the rise and we see India as our sporting rivals, so it is only natural to have a certain level of hostility between the two sets of fans. But there is always a line that should never be crossed. Sadly, however, the line is always traversed – something which leaves a dent in the name of the gentlemen’s game.

So, in short, be like the ‘can’t be bothered’ trolls. And, as Ali G would have said: Respek!