India’s leading cueist Pankaj Advani bore the brunt of the fans on Twitter after he took a sly dig at the cricketers following the win against Pakistan in the final of the Asian Team Snooker Championship on Wednesday (July 5). Advani teamed up with Laxman Rawat to outplay Pakistani duo of Mohammad Bilal and Babar Masih as he won the title-decider with an impressive margin of 3-0.
Delighted with the win, Advani, who was the only player in the tournament not to lose a single individual match in the team event, took to Twitter to express his happiness but in doing so invited unnecessary criticism by taking a shot at the popularity that the cricketers enjoy in this cricket-obsessed country.
“We r not demigods, we r not cricketers.. We r the Asian Team Snooker Champions 2017 ? What a feeling!,” he tweeted.
We r not demigods, we r not cricketers.. We r the Asian Team Snooker Champions 2017 ? What a feeling! pic.twitter.com/ogd1WfNgzG
— Pankaj Advani (@PankajAdvani247) July 5, 2017
And while his tweet was right to a certain extent, it did not go down too well with the fans who felt that the message was totally uncalled for since the cricketers are also representing the country just like him.
Congratulations! But what take a dig at cricketers? They're your fellow sportsmen and represent India the same way you do.
— Humanistic (@nofunwidoutpun) July 5, 2017
https://twitter.com/DhoniFangirl/status/882673527727341568
I am nt a cricket fan, but What's da use/logic of saying v r nt cricketers?,thy get attention, becoz thy also play hard thy don't beg fr it
— Best Regards – PK (@gotcrashed) July 5, 2017
https://twitter.com/himali_x/status/882675659918647296
https://twitter.com/shaggybehera/status/882856583922720768
Cricket reference could have been avoided. Immature. Congrats nonetheless.
— AJAY (@AJsmilemerchant) July 5, 2017
People love cricket more than snooker for obvious reasons…doesn't mean you should take a dig on them. This is why people don't recognise u
— Shanaya (@ShanayaStark) July 6, 2017
But at the same time, there were some who agreed with Advani and felt that other sports also deserve the same treatment as cricket.
https://twitter.com/SmithaLahiri/status/882626855664140288
Agree. Take a dig at the authorities. Also we are to be blamed equally. We create demigods out of b'wood n cricketers. Why blame them?
— Humanistic (@nofunwidoutpun) July 5, 2017
https://twitter.com/himali_x/status/882834330917244928
You need not be demigods, you need not be cricketers, but you are Champions. And we are proud of you. Congrats!
— D Prasanth Nair (@DPrasanthNair) July 6, 2017