A sad day for World cricket as spectators threw shoes at South African captain Faf du Plessis and Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday.
Both the players are part of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who returned to the Indian Premier League (IPL) after two years of suspension. The Indian media reported that protesters burned merchandise and jostled with police outside the cricket stadium, demanding that IPL matches be cancelled as the southern city reels from a water crisis.
Hundreds of demonstrators, some wearing black T-shirts and waving black balloons, gathered near the venue shouting slogans ahead of and during the Chennai Super Kings´ match against Kolkata Knight Riders.
IPL is back in Chennai after Two year’s
Someone in the crowds threw a Shoe at Faf..
can these kind of behaviour put everything into place and solve every problems? #IPL2018 #CSKvKKR pic.twitter.com/GG2uvVaT5q
— Nibraz Ramzan (@nibraz88cricket) April 10, 2018
A group of spectators threw a pair of shoes at the boundary in the Stadium, in the vicinity of Chennai Super Kings players, prompting the intervention of police.
The incident happened in the eighth over of the game, after which police evicted the group of spectators from the ground and reportedly took them into custody.
The spectators in question, carrying flags not permitted inside the stadium, flung the shoes near Ravindra Jadeja, who was fielding at long-on, and Faf du Plessis, who was seen carrying drinks for team-mates. Police tried to force protesters on to buses outside the stadium in Chennai.
Shoes thrown during @IPL match between Chennai Super Kings & Kolkata Knight Riders. Stadium cleared of protestors, 4000 policeman deployed as massive anti IPL protests hit Chennai by pro-Tamil groups pic.twitter.com/jgNu26A9NO
— PTV Sports (@PTVSp0rts) April 10, 2018
The Chennai stadium is scheduled to host the IPL matches between April 10 and May 20.
The Super Kings have also told the sellout crowd that they will not be allowed to take mobile phones, bags or other electronic devices into the ground.