Virat Kohli got dismissed for 5 in the 1st Test against South Africa at Newlands, Cape Town which prompted a 65-year-old ‘Viratian’ to attempt suicide. The man was a retired railway employee from Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam district. Police said that once Virat Kohli was dismissed, the person doused himself with kerosene and attempted to self-immolate. Hearing his cries, his family members and neighbours rushed to his room and saved him.
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This is not the first time cricket fans took the following to the extreme. India is a cricket-crazy nation and the sport is followed like a religion, with cricketers worshipped like gods. Here we present you instances when fans committed suicide after the result they wished for did not come through.
After India’s Champions Trophy loss to Pakistan
A 25-year-old Bangladeshi fan committed suicide by jumping in front of a train after India lost to Pakistan in the Champions Trophy by 180 runs. Though the youngster hailed from Bangladesh, he was a die-hard Indian cricket fan.
Indian fan commits suicide after teams exit
Upset over India’s loss and after having an argument with his wife, 25-year-old farmer Mahadeb Sarkar, hailing from a village in West Bengal, hung himself after the match. His wife also tried to hang herself but couldn’t.
Pakistan cricket fan commits suicide after losing bet
A 50-year-old Pakistani man committed suicide after he bet a month’s salary of Rs 30,000 on a cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh which his country lost.
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Lankan fans hang themselves after Sri Lanka’s T20I World Cup debacle
Two Sri Lankan youths unable to put up with the national team’s defeat in the ICC World Twenty20 cricket final against the West Indies committed suicide. Ashan Lakshita came back home after which he hung himself from a mango tree outside his house. Similarly, 21-year-old Mahendran Suresh from the central district town of Hatton hanged himself in his bedroom.
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Fans should realise that cricket is just a sport like other sports and cricketers are paid to play for their teams. So the advice is just to take the game at its entertainment value as your life is precious.
