“Fans should have boycotted the minister not the game” why Shashi Tharoor posted this on his social media?

In India, politics, movies and cricket are the most talked about topics and celebrities belonging to these distinct domains are highly criticsed in the public domain.

Their activities are closely observed and fans talk about them on social media.

Recently India achieved their greatest ODI victory of all time where they defeated Sri Lanka by heavy margin of 317 runs with amazing batting class from Kohli and Gill who scored century in the final ODI.

From an Indian standpoint, everything about that game was fantastic, but the odd thing was how few fans actually showed up to watch it because most of the seats were empty.

It is important to realise that the motivation behind this is political, as a state minister urged that those who cannot afford match tickets should refrain from attending games, and that the money received from the BCCI for this match should be contributed to the government.

Fans took it to heart and decided not to turn around to watch the cricket match since this is the social media age and everything you say is closely scrutinised.

Recently Shashi Tharoor,  MP from Kerala Thiruvananthapuram Constituency , shared a message on his official Twitter handle that statement from Kerala Sports Minister has been misinterpreted was taken out of context due to which fans in huge numbers have boycotted the last ODI held in the city. 

1. It appears that my statement yesterday regretting the poor attendance at the third India-SriLanka ODI, as a result of the social media boycott urged by fans enraged by the insensitive remarks of the Kerala Sports Minister, has been misrepresented by some.

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 16, 2023

2. Boycotts are a democratic right, but they should target the person against whom the boycotters are protesting. I have nothing against those who were understandably outraged by the Minister's callous comment that those who can't afford to buy a ticket need not attend the match.

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 16, 2023

3. The SportsMinister, who didn't bother enough to even attend the match, doesn't care if the gallery is full or empty. He was unaffected by the boycott. The protestors should have boycotted the Minister, not the game. The boycott only hurt the future prospects of cricket in Tvm.

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 16, 2023

4. The KCA, which has nothing to do w/the Minister or his insensitive comments, needed a good turnout to bolster its case for Tvm to be selected as a WorldCup venue later this year. If the low turnout yesterday is held against us by the BCCI, only sports fans will suffer.

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 16, 2023

5. That's the point i made yesterday at the stadium. I hear that my comments were only partially reported & have been distorted by some. Hope this thread makes my stand clear, as a cricket fan & as the local MP. I want top-class cricket to flourish in Trivandrum!

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 16, 2023

In this day of social media, every action and comment is being watched, and if there is something that fans don’t like, they will definitely boycott it.

Fans and the general public these days are wise in their decision-making, and if they make a choice, they will stick with it.

India won the three-match One-Day International series by a score of 3-0, and they will now face off against New Zealand in a limited overs series before taking on the Kangaroos in a test series.