Bangladesh team super fan Tiger Roby was allegedly beaten up by miscreants during the opening day of the second Test against India here on Friday. The match got underway at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur.
The incident occurred during India's second Test against Bangladesh, when Roby claimed to have been struck on his back and lower abdomen. The security guards acted promptly and transported the fan to a nearby hospital for emergency medical care.
An Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association official said Roby could not communicate the exact sequence of events but it was clear that he was in distress.
Roby, visibly shaken, told Sportstar, “They hit me on my back and lower abdomen, and I could not breathe.”
However, the police at the venue denied such allegations.
“One of our officers found him gasping for breath near the C block entrance, and he was struggling to speak. It seems like a case of dehydration, but we will wait for the doctors’ advice,” a police source said.
In a video posted by news agency PTI, Roby could be seen in immense pain as he could barely speak, explaining through gestures that he was hit on his back and lower abdomen. He claimed the public beat him.
"We do not know if he was hit by somebody. We have a constable in that stand to keep an eye on the fans. We could not understand what he was saying. Probably he had pain "The ambulance was taking some time to arrive so the in-stadia medical team has taken him to a nearby facility," the officer said to PTI.
In a chat with Indian Express, Roby further claimed that the crowd had been hurling abuses at him since the start of the day's play and that he had climbed to the balcony to keep himself safe.
“A cop told me not to stand at that block. I was there only because I was scared. They were hurling abuses since morning. I have watched enough Bollywood movies to understand the abuses,” he told the newspaper.
Meanwhile, India captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bowl first. Akas Deep picked two quick wickets up front before Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque added 51 runs for the third wicket.
Bangladesh reached 107/3 when play for day one was called off due to rain.
