Mohammad Shami, the only Muslim player in India’s T20 World Cup squad, faced a torrent of vicious online hate after the humiliating defeat against Pakistan on Sunday.
Even though skipper Virat Kohli admitted they were outplayed by Pakistan, Indian Twitter believed the 31-year-old fast bowler sold out his nation during the game.
Shami received hundreds of messages on his Instagram account, declaring him a traitor, and saying he should be thrown out of the Indian team.
Similar scenes were seen on Twitter where Indians singled him out and called him a match-fixer.
But many former cricketers, fans, and politicians stood behind him, urging the public not to hurl abuses.
India’s all-time batting great, Sachin Tendulkar, showed support for Shami and asked his fans to do so as well.
“Shami is a committed, world-class bowler. He had an off day like any other sportsperson can have,” Sachin wrote on Twitter.
When we support #TeamIndia, we support every person who represents Team India. @MdShami11 is a committed, world-class bowler. He had an off day like any other sportsperson can have.
I stand behind Shami & Team India.
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) October 25, 2021
On the other hand, Pakistan’s win was celebrated with firecrackers and Pakistan Zindabad slogans in parts of the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK).
Reacting to the development, former India Test cricketer who is now an MP for the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Gautam Gambhir, said it was “shameful” that people were celebrating Pakistan’s win.
Those bursting crackers on Pak winning can’t be Indian! We stand by our boys! #Shameful
— Gautam Gambhir (Modi Ka Parivar) (@GautamGambhir) October 25, 2021
The local media also reported a number of violent incidents against native Muslim citizens on Sunday night when Pakistan managed to break the World Cup hoodoo against India.
Some students in the Punjab state of India said that they were beaten up by goons of the BJP.
“Dozens of men armed with hockey sticks and batons attacked them as we watched the closing stages of the game,” students of an IT institute told AFP.
“We are safe now and we have support from our college. But we didn’t expect this at all. We are Indians,” he added.
