New Delhi, May 28: Indian cricket fans can be bit harsh at times. Many of them cannot tolerate their favourite players being targeted by someone. They become reactive. The recent episode with former Indian batter Ambati Rayudu is another such example.
The incident reached such a phase, that Rayudu's co-commentator had to plead Indian fans not to vent their ire at him (Rayudu).
Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen clarified why he called former Rayudu a 'joker' during a discussions in TV on the Indian Premir League (IPL) 2024 final on Sunday. He also urged fans not to target Rayudu.
Pietersen requested Indian fans to stop abuse towards Rayudu after he was called ‘joker’ by Pietersen on the finals night at the official broadcaster show.
Following Rayudu’s excessive criticism of Virat Kohli, many fans took to social media to troll the six-time IPL winner.
“Come on guys! This tribalism with/against Indian players on social media needs to slow down!," read the tweet by Kevin Pietersen.
Example - @RayuduAmbati and I were messing around after the IPL final and all of a sudden that banter has turned into an avalanche of abuse towards Ambati. PLEASE stop it?” it further added.
The incident took place after the IPL final, when Ambati Rayudu changed from orange clothes to a blue outfit following Hyderabad’s loss against Kolkata.
"I've at least held firm. I wore it and I owned it," said Pietersen pointing out towards his purple dress. "You are a joker, always a joker," Pietersen further went on to say live on Star Sports.
This led to many trolls being directed towards the 38-year-old as Rayudu has been publicly critical of Virat Kohli’s contributions stating that scoring a lot of runs every season does not guarantee an IPL trophy and that RCB needed to show more faith in the youngsters rather than relying on Kohli alone.
Rayudu might be right up to some extent in pointing out Kohli's mountains of runs in almost every IPL season and RCB not winning the title after 17 editions. But Virat Kohli's fans surely find it hard to digest. Hopefully, after Pietersen's pleadings fans may stop targeting Rayudu. (With IANS support)
