BENGALURU: Royal Challengers Bangalore fans are elated after the team’s nail-biting two-wicket win over defending champions Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League 2021 opener on Friday night in Chennai. And why not? For, the Rohit Sharma-led side have always been the team to beat in the competition.
However, the mood amongst the passionate RCB fans in the state was not quite the same earlier that day. They were a disappointed lot when, about eight hours prior to the fixture, the franchise released its anthem on social media. It had come in for major criticism last season too, as it had just a few words in Kannada while most of it was in Hindi and English. The story did not change this edition too.
At a time where there is a debate over ‘imposition of Hindi’, some section of the fans have wanted the team to use ‘Bengaluru’ in the team name rather than Bangalore. “The anthem was released in 2020 too, and they have not changed it much this time.
Only the new players have been added in the video. As RCB is a team from Bengaluru, one was expecting the anthem in Kannada, but there are just one or two lines,” said Preetham Karigar from the Namma Team RCB fan club. What is discomforting for RCB fans is that many other teams across the league, like Chennai Super Kings, have tried to connect with fans, through Tamil which forms major part in its anthem.
Where is the local connect? ask RCB fans
Some RCB fans say they are not even demanding that the entire lyrics be in Kannada, but want the local language to be the base and used more often. “I feel the RCB management should take this matter seriously. When they make such anthems (with less of Kannada), we cannot even call it our anthem.
It is just some fashionable song. They just want to make a song, but where is the local connect? I am quite sure that all the RCB fans here are completely disappointed. I am not even saying, make it 100 per cent in Kannada, 70-80 per cent can be in Kannada and the rest can be in Hindi and English,” said Sagar Siddu, member of another fan club ‘Bleed Namma RCB’.