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Tamil Nadu's dignified welcome for Pakistan's Cricket Team

Cheer, Music, Banter, Booing, and the pleasant sounds from the wicket and the bat are the  sounds you expect from a cricket stadium. However in this world cup the North Indian cricket stadiums have started to sound more like political rallies with religious chants, bullying, hate language, and slurs, dominating the noise from the audiences. While audiences in the Ahmedabad stadium welcomed Pakistan with open hostility, the treatment was very different down south. In yesterday's match between Pakistan and Afghanistan Tamil Nadu cricket fans were seen giving both the teams a warm welcome. 

In the last few weeks alone we saw viral footage from the stadiums in the North of India which shows hooligans surrounding a Bangladesh cricket supporter and taunting him after Bangladesh lost a match against India.
In another shocking incident we saw a Pakistan supporter being warned not to cheer for Pakistan by an Indian police man. Overall the North Indian stadiums have been very hostile towards Pakistan. The anti-Muslim and Anti Pakistan hate politics of the ruling BJP government has destroyed the sportive spirit of the North. It seems like the audience in the North are more driven by hate than by the love for the sport.

But in Tamil Nadu, it was a different story.
It is always the case, noh? ;) 

Tamil Nadu fans have always been known for their passion for cricket, and they showed it once again yesterday by welcoming Pakistan with open arms. There were no religious chants, no bullying, no hate language, and no slurs. Just pure and simple love for the sport. 

Here are some heartening and wholesome moments from yesterday’s event that shows the love Chennai and Tamil Nadu has for cricket. 

One Pakistani supporter is seen here, sharing his happiness at seeing cricket fans in Chennai thronging to the stadium wearing Pakistan jerseys. He was pleasantly surprised.

He says

“I saw the match in Ahmedabad, and there in the middle of a sea of India supporters, i could only see a few Pakistani supporters in the stadium with the Pakistan jersey, but here in the South it is great to see this great support for all the teams”  
In another video a Tamil cricket fan wearing the Pakistani jersey said:

“ I support the Indian Cricket Team, but today since it was a game between Pakistan and Afghanistan, I chose to support Pakistan. I am here to enjoy the sport! We saw a few ugly incidents by fans in the previous matches, and we are here to restore the dignity of the Indian cricket fans that was lost due to the behaviour in Ahmedabad. Regardless of religion and borders we are here to enjoy the sport” he said.  
Most of the cricket fans from the State of Tamil Nadu share the same sentiments and have been very vocal about it on social media. This young cricket fan represented the sentiments of the cricket fans very well.

Tamil Nadu has in the past taken decisions to restrict teams like the Sri Lankan Cricket Team and its players from participating in Chennai matches as a political action against Sri Lanka’s Genocide of the Tamil people. The Indian Union has also taken a similar stand against Pakistan for various political reasons. 

If you have a problem hosting a team, you could choose to not invite them, or you could refuse to participate in tournaments with them. That would be the fair way to deal with it. However if you want to host an international tournament like the world cup, you should treat all the teams with respect regardless of your political enimity with them.  If you don't want to do that, don't host the world cup. It is as simple as that.

Tamil Nadu Government under the leadership of Jayalalitha refused to allow any Sri Lankan Cricket players from participating in games that were happening in Tamil Nadu. The Government was firm in its decision and put its principles before money. They refused to participate. That was a fair decision. Tamil Nadu didn't invite Sri Lanka and then humiliate that team. They simply refused to host the games. If North India has a problem with Pakistan, they should have simply refused to host the games. But the BJP Government and its supporters don’t seem to understand this. They wanted to display their arrogance and hostility to an international audience, and are currently participating in the shameless act of humiliating the guests. 

Pakistan has handled this whole situation very gracefully. I don't know if Chennai could fully compensate for all the bad experience and hostility they have been receiving in the North, but am pretty sure they will be able to see appreciate the beauty of cricket as a sporting event while they play in Chennai. 

Infact the Chennai fans were very vocal about the appreciation.

Yesterday the Chennai audience chanted Babar! Babar! when Pakistan's captain Babar scored 50 runs. In Ahmedabad all we could hear were chants of Ram. I checked the scoreboard and couldn't find any Ram playing. It must have felt refreshing to see people chant the names of actual players who are playing the game 😂

That said, Afghanistan stole the show yesterday with their stellar performance, and after the match, we could see a small group of Afghanis dancing and celebrating the victory outside the stadium as Chennai prepared for another peaceful and quiet night of sleep.

Tamil Nadu, has once again shown that it is possible to be passionate about cricket without resorting to hate. They have shown that cricket can be a force for good, bringing people together from all walks of life.
-@mrpaluvets
24/10/23

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