Why Are Cricketers’ Families Bearing The Brunt Of Fan Outrage?

Sanjana Ganesan, the sports broadcaster and wife of cricketer Jasprit Bumrah, recently spoke out on social media after a section of internet users mocked her young child, Angad, for his facial expression during a thrilling IPL match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Wankhede Stadium. 

In her Instagram story, Ganesan expressed her frustration with the trolls, stating, "Our son is NOT a topic for your entertainment. Jasprit and I do everything in our power to keep Angad away from social media because the internet is a despicable, vile place to be... Angad and I were there to support Jasprit and nothing else."

She also condemned the use of terms like "depression" and "trauma" directed at her 1.5-year-old child, highlighting the harm such words can cause. "Throwing around words like trauma and depression in reference to a baby says so much about who we're becoming as a community, and it's honestly really sad," she added. 

This comes after another incident in the IPL 2025, where Shresta Iyer, the sister of Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Shreyas Iyer, faced online abuse following PBKS's loss to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Shresta Iyer, the cricketer's sister, took to social media to call out the abuse. "It's honestly disappointing to see people stoop so low as to blame the family for simply showing up to support," Shresta wrote in an Instagram story.

"Whether we're physically present or cheering from afar, our support for the team is unwavering. To those pointing fingers at me, your shallow mindset is not only laughable, it's embarrassing. I've been there for countless matches, India's and others and most of them ended in victory. But I guess when you're busy trolling from behind a screen, facts don't matter," Shresta wrote.

Shreyas Iyer's sister, Shresta Iyer, shared an Instagram story about being abused by Virat Kohli fans. Shubman Gill's sister, Rohit Sharma's daughter, and KL Rahul's wife were also abused by Virat Kohli fans, Shreyas Iyer's sister has now faced the same. Shameful stuffs pic.twitter.com/8kLtk7hTcA

— 👑 (@SG77Era) April 20, 2025

Similar Incidents

This was not the first time that a cricketer's family was targeted for their performance. During the IPL 2023, a section of RCB "fans" took to social media to abuse Gujarat Titans' Shubman Gill and his sister Shahneel Gill. While the disgusting treatment of Shubman Gill was horrifying, the abusers took it to another level when they targeted his sister, who is in no way connected to the match or the sport.

Earlier, Indian Skipper Virat Kohli’s then 10-month-old daughter received rape threats from a Twitter user after India lost a T20 match against New Zealand in 2021. In 2020, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s daughter also received rape threats from a teenager in Gujarat following the Chennai Super Kings' poor performance in the Indian Premier League.

The Spirit Of Sports

The sport of cricket itself is about unity and sportsmanship. Being fans of the sport and sharing a passion for it, shouldn’t these people learn some virtues that go with the game? Why are fans taking defeat so personally? Do these people so completely lack morality and conscience that they stoop down to the level of abusing women and children? How can these people be fans if all it takes is one poor performance or failed match for them to abuse their female family members and wish death upon players?

People get emotionally connected to the sports they watch, be it cricket, football, or any other sport. Do they forget that winning and losing are just parts of the sport? Every player gives their best in every match they play. But at the end of the day, there’s going to be only one winner. Does this mean that every time a team loses, the fans of the team are entitled to get enraged and abuse sportspeople and their families?

This attitude that a section of fans exhibits is highly problematic and misleading. Trolls are hiding behind the veil of anonymity to harass, abuse, and give death threats to the cricketer, and decided it was not enough toxicity and began to abuse his sister as well.

Why do these men take the liberty to misuse the anonymous status social media gives them, despite knowing what they are doing is wrong? Isn’t it high time that such criminal actions are strictly condemned and penalised?

Views expressed by the author are their own.