Irked fans slam governor for shoving Sunil Chhetri with infamous Ponting-Pawar Champions Trophy incident

The viral clip from Durand Cup presentation ceremony on Sunday, where West Bengal governor La Ganesan Iyer can be seen shoving talismanic footballer Sunil Chhetri to adjust in the frame, has been condemned by many. From celebrities to fans, most have reacted to the video, slamming Ganesan for disrespecting the India and Bengaluru FC captain.

Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa took to Twitter and wrote: “That’s just all sorts of wrong!! Sorry @chetrisunil11 you deserve so much better than this!!”

While the governor was heavily trolled for his gesture, a section of fans related it to the incident that took place over a decade ago and involved former Australia captain Ricky Ponting and ex-BCCI president Sharad Pawar.

The incident took place in 2009 when Australia had claimed their maiden ICC Champions Trophy silverware under Ponting’s leadership. During the presentation ceremony then, Ponting tapped Pawar from behind asking the BCCI president to hurry up the proceedings. And soon after the trophy was handed to him, Damien Martyn and rest could be seen shoving Pawar out of the frame to get a perfect shot of the winning celebration.

On the clip, which is shared below, the panelists discussing the match can be heard saying: “OK . . . the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India being pushed. Boy, he’s not going to like that too much at all.”

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The fans compared both the incidents and urged for better treatment by the dignitaries towards the players. Here are a few reactions:

Meanwhile, Bengaluru FC and their talismanic captain Chhetri won their maiden Durand Cup football tournament title after beating Mumbai City FC 2-1 in the summit clash at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Sunday. Sivasakthi Narayanan (10th minute) and Brazilian Alan Costa (61st) scored for the winners while Lalengmawia Ralte (Apuia) got the lone goal for the Mumbai side in an entertaining match.