By IANS,
Mohali (Punjab) : Against the backdrop of rumours regarding a rift among team members and franchisee owners appealing for media to restrain from such stories, Kings XI Punjab stepped into the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium here to take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RBC) Friday evening.
There was full support from the home crowd for local hero Yuvraj Singh and they are expecting a good knock from him.
“We are not concerned about whatever is written in the media about Yuvraj. At this juncture of his career when he has already immensely contributed in the national side, we cannot doubt his team spirit and integrity. We all want Yuvraj to quiet his critics through his bat,” said Puneet Bhalla, an ardent fan of Yuvraj.
Vimmi Sehgal, another Yuvraj fan at PCA, said to IANS: “I do not know why everyone is trying to peep into his personal life; like where he is going, in which car and who is he meeting. It could be frustrating for anyone. Besides, by concocting false stories about his rift with other players, media is adding oil into the fire.”
“We want to convey our message to him that our support is always with him and he is the best T20 batsman in the world,” Sehgal said.
Kings XI Punjab are at the last place in the IPL with only one win in seven matches so far. The team has lost all its three matches on the home ground this season.
“We simply love the flamboyance and attitude of Yuvraj Singh. Although he has not fired in this season so far, we are still hopeful that he will make a strong comeback in the remaining matches,” Nandika Sharma, a class 12 student who has come to PCA with her family, told IANS.
At the same time there are cricket lovers who are quite unconcerned about any such story.
“IPL is more than just cricket for us. It’s a three-hour full of bang-bang cricket, music, entertainment with cheerleaders dancing across; totally stress-buster. I think that such things cannot harm its popularity,” said Ankit Merchant, a young IPL enthusiast.