SA vs IND: ‘They Abused My Wife’ – Tabraiz Shamsi on Indian Fans

Tabraiz Shamsi, the South African spinner, has spoken out about the cyberbullying and online abuses he faced after taking the wicket of India’s stand-in captain, Suryakumar Yadav, in a recent T20 match.

In the second T20 of the three-match series, Tabraiz Shamsi’s crucial wicket of Suryakumar Yadav triggered a backlash from Indian fans, who not only hurled abuses at Shamsi but also extended their hostility towards his wife.

“People took it in a negative way; they thought it was disrespectful. I had so much abuse hurled at me. It was probably the worst it’s ever been. There was also abuse hurled at my wife. I didn’t appreciate that. It’s uncalled for. It’s fine if you want to have a dig at the players, but to involve family and say nasty things, that pushes it to another level,” Shamsi told Cricbuzz.

“I feel that if players don’t say anything about it, then people think they have a free licence. More people need to speak up and say it’s not OK. Yes, we’re all trying our best. Yes, your team might not win or you might not agree with certain things. But you need to behave like a human being. You can’t carry on like an animal.”