Virender Sehwag explains #OtherMenInBlue tweet after India Blind Cricket captain takes offence
After Virender Sehwag congratulated the blind cricket team using #OtherMenInBlue, people on Twitter did not take it too kindly and even the captain of the blind cricket team took offence to the tweet. However, was what Sehwag did really so wrong? Was it really disrespectful to the World Champions?
Last Sunday, the Indian blind cricket team defeated Pakistan in the final to win the Blind Cricket T20 World Cup for the second time. India chased down the target of 198 comfortably for the loss of just one wicket to lift the trophy.
After the win, as congratulatory messages poured in from all quarters, a tweet from Virender Sehwag caught everyone's eye.
Congratulations to our #OtherMenInBlue on winning the T20 World Cup for the Blind. They have lit up smiles for a billion people. pic.twitter.com/sEZiz2mXxU
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) February 12, 2017
Now as you can see, Virender Sehwag called the team the 'other men in blue,' and not 'men in blue', as the Indian team is affectionately called by its fans. And then, Twitter did what Twitter does. Get offended. Within minutes people started to call Sehwag out for using prefixing the word 'other' to the popular name of the team.
No they are not the other men in blue but just #GreaterMenInBlue https://t.co/XRfa1stLav
— 🇮🇳pramil🇮🇳 (@DeeepFriedLife) February 12, 2017
@virendersehwag You are disrespecting them by calling them OTHER MEN IN BLUE...they are also MEN IN BLUE
— ACHIN MADAN (@achin_madan) February 12, 2017
It went so far that even the captain of the blind cricket team, Ajay Reddy went ahead and said that they should not be called the 'other men in blue.' “We wear the same blue jersey, represent the same tri-colour and play with equal pride and passion then why term us as ‘other’? It is appreciable that he congratulated us but then we are no others. We too are the men in blue”, he told The Indian Express.
And he is right. The blind cricket team also wears the same blue jersey and represents the same tri-color, and they are definitely the men in blue. But he also needs to realise that what Sehwag did was not in any way meant to disrespect or demean the team. He was simply adhering
Now before people got too worked, Sehwag was quick to point this out.
. @GauravPandhi Better do some research before commenting.But research &media/you don't go hand in hand.It is their official campaign theme. pic.twitter.com/LplsoeZATf
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) February 14, 2017
So yeah, we need to cut Sehwag some slack here. Yes, Ajay Reddy and his team deserve as much adulation and respect as any other Indian team. And Sehwag will be the first one to say so. If you've ever heard Viru speak his mind, you'll know he's the last person to disrespect any Indian athlete, cricketer or otherwise. So, calling him out just for using a marketing campaign tagline is too harsh.