'White T-shirts marked with black lines, written MS' number and Thala': Ex-RCB and CSK player slams fans hostility

RCB claimed wins in both matches this season. (BCCI Photo)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) enjoy a massive fanfare across the nation. However, at times it has turn ugly, something which Robin Uthappa, who has previously represented both franchises, highlighted on his YouTube channel.

From heckling a woman to fans getting into scuffle, Uthappa called out the hostile acts that he observed recently. "It was pretty intense, Outside the stadium, they were mocking the team, the players of the team when the bus was leaving, that was one thing that I saw, which I thought was in bad taste. The other one that I saw were the fans fighting with each other. I saw women being heckled, which felt unsavory, to be very honest. We saw that even in Chennai last year, again, uncalled for. It's not on whatsoever," Uthappa said on his YouTube channel.

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The ex-cricketer also pointed another incident of RCB fans holding white T-shirts with black stripes, making a reference to CSK's two-year ban and dragging legendary cricketer MS Dhoni in it. He said all these acts are "concerning", and urged people to understand that this is just a sport.

"It has gotten pretty intense. They are holding up jerseys, white T-shirts marked with black lines, stating the two years that CSK were banned for. They have kind of written MS' number on it, and Thala under it, depicting that they were in jail for two years, or whatever. It's getting a little beyond sport which concerns me. Because at the end of the day, this is a sport," he added.

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Both CSK and RCB share intense rivalry, with the former dominating the head-to-head battle. However, the trend has changed in recent years with RCB claiming wins in the last three encounters — including both matches this season.

In fact, RCB are in hunt for their maiden IPL glory this season and they restart their campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. CSK, on the other hand, endured a tough campaign and are already eliminated from the playoffs race.