Ahead of the first Twenty20 International between India and Australia at the Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium on Sunday, Indian skipper Virat Kohli asked the fans to stay quiet during the two-minute silence that was observed to honour the victims of the Pulawama terror attack.
Many sections of the crowd could be heard chanting loudly during the time when both team’s national anthems were played. This prompted the Indian captain to ask the crowd to remain silent as a period of silence was observed to pay respect to the martyred officials.
Cricket fans on Twitter expressed anger at the behaviour of the crowd in the stadium.
The players and the support staff paid homage to the Pulwama martyrs by donning black armbands.The crowd held banners to express their condolences to the CRPF men who lost their lives in the heinous Pulwama attack.Indian head coach Ravi Shastri along with batting coach Sanjay Bangar, bowling Coach Bharat Arun and other support staff were seen wearing the black armbands.
The BCCI has already announced a move to scrap the IPL opening ceremony and will be donating close to Rs 15 crore for the families of the martyred soldiers.The crowd present at the Vizag stadium chanted ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jay’ while remembering the martyred CRPF personnel.