The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has taken swift and strict action after several Indian cricketers, including Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Rishabh Pant, were subjected to heckling and harassment by fans during a training session in Adelaide. The incident occurred a day before the start of the second Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. 

Indian players heckled by fans in Australia

According to a senior BCCI official, the incident was “complete chaos” with over 3,000 fans turning up for the Indian team’s training session, compared to just 70-odd people for the Australian team’s session. The official stated that the players were “very disturbed” by the rude and insensitive comments made by the fans.

An eyewitness account revealed that fans badgered players like Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant to hit sixes and made derogatory comments about another player’s fitness. The eyewitness also reported that some fans were doing Facebook live sessions and talking loudly while the players were taking their stance, causing distractions.

“It was complete chaos. During the Australian training session, not more than 70-odd people turned up but during India’s session, 3000 came. No one expected so many fans to turn up,” a senior BCCI official told PTI.

“There was another fans’ day in Sydney (ahead of the fifth Test) which stands cancelled as players were very disturbed by the rude and insensitive comments that were passed (here),” he added.

“Virat (Kohli) and Shubman Gill could have been mobbed because of so many people. Some were doing Facebook live with friends and talking loudly just as the batter took stance,” he said.

“One supporter continuously urged a player to say ‘hi’ to him in Gujarati. Another particular cricketer was body-shamed.” 

Also Read: After crowd chaos, no fans allowed at Team India’s practice during remainder of BGT

BCCI takes strict action after heckling incident

As a result of this incident, the BCCI has canceled a fans’ day event that was scheduled to take place in Sydney ahead of the fifth Test. The board has taken a strong stance against the harassment of players and will be taking steps to ensure that such incidents do not happen in the future.

The Indian team is currently in Australia for a five-match Test series, with the first match being a day-night Test in Adelaide, followed by matches in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney.

Also Read: Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Rishabh Pant Likely To Pay The Price Of India’s Opening Batting Confusion

(With PTI inputs)