“Why focus on Anushka Sharma if Virat Kohli performs poorly?” Harbhajan Singh on cricket fans criticising the families of players

Harbhajan used his former India teammate Virat Kohli as an example of what his wife, Anushka Sharma, who was once his girlfriend, had to go through when the star batsman gets dismissed cheaply. The Punjabi native claims that such behaviour is cheap and should never be carried out by supporters since it ignores criticism that has a valid reason because players never purposefully play subpar cricket.

A cricket player’s life is full of setbacks and criticism. But when a player doesn’t do well in a cricket match, some fervent supporters will go so far as to scold and harass their parents, partners, or even kids. When former Indian cricket player Harbhajan Singh was recently asked what he thought about the actions of these supporters, the off-spinner was obviously completely against them.

If Virat Kohli is doing poorly, his wife is targeted.

“That is completely incorrect. In my opinion, all cricket fans and enthusiasts are not like that. If Virat Kohli is doing well, then his wife is the target. Kya hai ye? (What is this?) In a video on Instant Bollywood, Harbhajan exhorted the supporters, “Hum ek society mai rehte hai (We live in a society), we should understand a player wants to win the game whenever he walks onto the pitch.”

“Kabahi wo haarega, kabhi wo jeetega.” Par wo accha khele ki wo prayaas karta hai. Toh aapko kisi tarah unke family to criticise nahi karna chaahiye, agar kisi din wo accha nahi karta hai. A player can win or lose a match, hence it is unfair for them to criticise other players. However, he or she never stops wanting to do well for the team. It is improper for supporters to be critical of their family members when a player performs poorly. You might, of course, be critical of the players for their poor performance,” Harbhajan continued.

View the statement made by Harbhajan Singh here.

 

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The former Indian athlete thought that criticism was OK as long as it was aimed at the players, but he felt that family members should never be singled out because they don’t play on the pitch and have nothing to do with what a player does on a particular day. Family members wish the team and all participating players luck in every game, he continued.

“But don’t mention my relatives. They haven’t taken any action. Neither of them enters the field. Merely liye or poore team ke liye, wo sab ke liye accha desire karte hai. They hope the players and the squad have the greatest possible outcome. Why involve families in this? The renowned Test cricketer emphasised.