Yuvraj Singh has a sense of humour. He also has a temper. Fortunately he didn't get physical with the spectators who teased, taunted and tormented him at the P Sara Oval in Colombo on Tuesday.
Yuvraj Singh has a sense of humour. He also has a temper. Fortunately he didn't get physical with the spectators who teased, taunted and tormented him at the P Sara Oval in Colombo on Tuesday. He was reportedly called water boy by some cricket fans.
A few years ago at the Wankhede Stadium, during a Mumbai vs Punjab Ranji Trophy game, Yuvraj went up to the stand at the pavilion end with a bat to deal with a spectator, who wouldn't get off his back with a series of verbal attacks. Luckily, a physical confrontation didn't materialise and the spectator escaped the young Yuvraj's wrath.
Times have changed. Spectators are now abusive as compared to the good-humoured ones of yore. Players have become less tolerant what with the constant media glare. Sure, it comes with the job but the ground authorities should ensure the spectators do not get too close to the players' enclosure. All it takes is one bad element to cause a row and the problem escalates if he has had one too many mugs of beer.
There have been cases of players getting injured in scuffles. An incident, which comes to mind, concerns former Australian swing bowler Terry Alderman during a Test against England at the Western Australia Cricket Association ground in Perth, 1982. A drunk spectator hit him on the head and while Alderman was tackling him, he dislocated his shoulder. He had to be stretchered off the ground and missed the rest of the season.
I know of several administrators who don't want the press box at the same end of the players' enclosure because they don't want the media hanging out behind doors and walls. Well, the real challenge should be policing the crowd and not the media who are barred at most places anyway.
I'm told the new Wankhede Stadium, to be completed in time for the World Cup, has the media box at the Marine Lines end of the ground which is opposite the pavilion end. Talking about Wankhede, one cannot help recalling how Dilip Vengsarkar caught his oppressor during the Ranji Trophy in 1994-95. Vengsarkar, who had retired three seasons ago, was watching the action from the press box when he had enough from a spectator needling him. He spotted the man, jumped over to the stand on his left, chased the chirpy spectator, caught up with him and landed a firm slap. With all the publicity the Yuvraj incident has attracted, he becomes a bigger target for insensitive fans.
Yuvraj was seen with a book in hand the other day. Wonder whether he'll be better off reading How to Win Friends and Influence People.
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