India vs Australia, 4th Test, Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Fans confront Khalistani group outside Melbourne Cricket Ground for shouting anti-national slogans

The first day of the Boxing Day Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) between India and Australia on Thursday saw heated action not only on the field but off it as well as Indian fans confronted Khalistan supporters outside the stadium over chanting anti-India slogans and allegedly desecrating the national flag.

A pro-Khalistan group gathered outside the stadium on Thursday morning. The group was seen waving Khalistani flags, shouting slogans against India and desecrating the Indian flag. In a video being widely circulated across social media, the Khalistani radicals can be seen wrapping the Indian flag into a football and playing with it. A few Indian fans came forward to protest and things took a heated turn before the Victoria police sprung to action and drove the disruptive elements away.

When asked about the confrontation, one Indian fan at the MCG told news agency ANI, “Who is Khalistani? I don’t know who is a Khalistani. I am a proud Sikh.”

“…I don’t think any limelight should be given to them…Whatever they do, I think it’s not worth it. They are just 5-10 people who have been born and brought up here. They have never been to Punjab and doing this nonsense agenda for themselves. Let’s just not give any limelight to them,” another Indian cricket fan told ANI outside the MCG.

Pro-Khalistani groups have targeted Indians and have tried to sabotage events across the US, Canada and the UK over the past two years. Last month, a group of Khalistani supporters barged into a temple in Canada’s Brampton, attacking Hindu devotees. Last year, India’s High Commission in London came under attack when India’s flag was replaced with the Khalistani flag.

Meanwhile, on the field, Virat Kohli’s controversial shoulder-to-shoulder collision with debutant Sam Konstas, leading to a heated verbal exchange between the two in the tenth over, caught everyone by surprise. The Border-Gavaskar series is delicately poised at 1-1 with the fourth and penultimate Test match proving to be crucial for both teams eyeing for a spot in the World Test Championship final next year.