Two days ago, a Virat Kohli fan invaded the pitch to meet his idol. The incident saw mixed reactions from fans. Some labeled it dangerous to player safety, while others used it to show the popularity and fandom of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the star batter.
The ‘seemingly’ harmless incident took a wrong turn when we saw that the fan was beaten by the M Chinnaswamy Stadium security team after he was apprehended. The disturbing video shows the fan being brutally assaulted by the security personnel.
The act is rightly being criticized, but it raises a question: why wasn’t this the case last year as well when an English cricket fan, Daniel Jarvis, or ‘Jarvo69’ stormed the pitch at the ODI World Cup 2023? The prankster, who has made a name for himself by disturbing play in cricket matches, went scot-free.
Why aren’t the same rules applied to all?
The argument here isn’t that ‘Jarvo69’ should have been physically assaulted, but rather that an Indian fan was manhandled. Jarvo was banned from playing the remainder of the matches of the ODI World Cup after his pitch invasion in Chennai. But if that was adequate then, why isn’t it adequate now?
Was there really a need to physically assault a fan for a misstep? No one can disagree that what that particular Virat Kohli fan did was wrong, but under no circumstances should he have been treated the way he was by the Chinnaswamy Stadium security. One can hope that no security breaches happen in the future and that no one is treated this way either.
Editors pick
