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Congress MP Shashi Tharoor took to social media to criticize the young Indian cricket team and the BCCI following their loss to Zimbabwe in the ongoing T20I series.
Detailed Overview:
Series Context:
The Indian cricket team, currently engaged in a five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe in Harare, has faced significant scrutiny after a disappointing start. In the first game, India, led by Shubman Gill, failed to chase a modest target of 115 runs and lost by 13 runs.
Fan Reactions:
While many Indian cricket fans expressed sympathy and support for the young team, others were critical of their performance. The loss came shortly after India's triumphant victory in the T20 World Cup, adding to the unexpected nature of the defeat.
Shashi Tharoor's Criticism:
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, representing Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, took a sharp jab at the Indian cricket team and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Tharoor's critique was directed not only at the players but also at the administration, suggesting a sense of complacency following their recent success.
In his post on X (formerly Twitter), Tharoor wrote: “So even while the echoes of the wild celebrations at Mumbai for India’s #T20WorldCup win have not died down, we have been beaten by minnows Zimbabwe today in Harare. It’s just what @BCCI deserved for taking things for granted. Whether on June 4 or on July 6, arrogance has been brought down a notch. Well played, Zimbabwe! #ZIMvsIND”
Political Undertones:
Tharoor's remarks also seemed to carry political undertones, indirectly referencing Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary and son of BJP leader and Home Minister Amit Shah. This added a layer of political commentary to the sports critique.
He was slammed for his assessment of the young Indian team but decided to pile on his criticism as he said that an Indian team without Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and others is not INDIA, but an India A team.
He posted: “If a team is called INDIA it needs to be worthy of the label. This was at best "India A". If SKY, Pant, Hardik, Kuldeep, Siraj, Bumrah, and Arshdeep, plus Sanju, Jaiswal, Chahal, and Dube, were ALL unavailable this week, the tour should have been postponed. At least half of them should have been there to justify the International status given to these matches. This is what I mean by @BCCI taking success arrogantly for granted. My disappointment is not because we lost but because we did not even show that much self-respect.”
However, Tharoor had to eat his words after India thumped Zimbabwe in the second T20i by 100 runs in Harare thanks to Abhishek Sharma’s brilliant 100 and pacers’ performances.
Tharoor praised Abhishek’s performance with the bat and said: “Congratulations to the young India team that just thrashed Zimbabwe today by 100 runs, especially @IamAbhiSharma4 whose century was the third-fastest ever scored for India in T20Is. Happy they bounced back so quickly from their poor showing yesterday (and glad to be trolled for a happy cause)! #INDvsZIM @BCCI”
However, the fans were not in the mood to let Shashi Tharoor get off so easily and shared their anger on social media platforms for his rant on the Indian team.
Here are some of the posts:
