CHENNAI: Last Sunday, before the match against Pakistan, Team India took the knee for the first time in support of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. It was virgin territory for a side that prefers not to mix politics with the sport in the middle.
That's why they don't speak on social issues. Apart from wearing camouflage caps in an ODI against Australia in 2019 in honour of the Armed forces, they have largely chosen to keep political and social messages at a distance.
That they took part in the #BLM campaign in itself was a departure from the past. But there was something else that happened through the course of the week that made people wonder if they would speak against it.
Following their defeat to Pakistan, several Indian players were victims of online abuse, with some directing the anger at captain Virat Kohli for hugging Mohammad Rizwan at the end. But none of it was as bad as what pacer Mohammed Shami went through. A few even questioned his commitment to India as he practices a different faith.
The only support, if it can be called that, was from the BCCI handle: "Proud, Strong, Upward and onward with emojis of the Tri-colour and flexed biceps'. The post accompanied a photo in which Shami and Kohli were in the same frame."
While former players and Yuzvendra Chahal did tweet in support of Shami, none got to the meat of the issue: his religion being held against him.
However, speaking on the eve of the match against New Zealand, Kohli first came hard at the online trolls calling them spineless. He also went in hard to a pointed question about Shami being targeted because of his religion.
"To me attacking someone over their religion is the most, I would say, pathetic thing that a human being can do. Everyone has the right to voice their opinion and what they feel about certain situations, but I personally have never ever even thought of discriminating anyone over their religion. That is a very personal and a sacred thing to every human being and that should be left there," Kohli said.
Citing the strong team culture, Kohli said the Indian team stands firmly by Shami and are not going to let the abuse affect him in any way. "They have no understanding of the fact that someone like Mohammed Shami has won India 'n' number of matches in the last few years and he's been our primary bowler with Jasprit Bumrah when it comes to making an impact in games in Test cricket. I mean, if people can overlook that and his passion for the country, I honestly don't even want to waste one minute of my life to give any attention to those people. Neither does Shami and neither does anyone else in the team. We stand by him fully. We are backing him 200 per cent, and all those who have attacked him can come with more force if they want to: our brotherhood, our friendship within the team, nothing can be shaken. I can guarantee you that as the captain of the team, that we have built a culture where these things will not even infiltrate into this environment 0.0001%. That is an absolute guarantee from my side," Kohli said.
While Shami was targeted because of his faith, several others have also been on the receiving end of online abuse on a consistent basis. Unlike the football world, where players and teams have taken a unified stand against online abuse by keeping their social media handles offline for a certain period, cricket is still some distance away, and players are left to deal with it on their own. Most have preferred to keep direct messages closed, but leave the comments section open to the public on Instagram and other sites.
"We, as individuals, understand what we want to do on the field and the strength of character and mental toughness that we have and precisely doing what we are doing on the field. None of these people are even in the vicinity to even imagine doing something like that. They don't have the courage or spine to do that. They hide behind identities to go after people on social media, making fun of people and that has become social entertainment in today's world which is so unfortunate and sad to see. So that is how I see things and this drama created on the outside is purely based on people's frustrations, their lack of self-confidence, their lack of compassion, hence they find it so amusing to go after people," Kohli added.