For waving sandpaper in front of the Australian fans during the second Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT 2024–25) between Australia and India, an Indian fan was ejected from the Adelaide Oval. Unbeknownst to the audience, this performance served as a reminder of the gloomy period in Australian cricket six years prior.
As the security officers firmly lead him out of the stadium amid a mix of applause and jeering from the entire audience, it becomes clear that the supporters are still troubled by the past. The Indian side’s terrible experience in the pink ball Test in Adelaide was a crushing defeat to the home team. Even though Rohit Sharma and his team had defeated the Australians handily in Perth, things did not go as planned. In the forthcoming match in Brisbane, it is reasonable to assume that the Indians will want to demonstrate their mettle and try to replicate their 2021 feats.
Undoubtedly, the crowd is there to watch a cricket match, but fierce competition often leads to some surprising fan behaviour. The sandpaper affair, in which Cameron Bancroft and other cricket greats including Steve Smith and David Warner were banned by Cricket Australia, has been brought up by certain supporters on other occasions.
Check out the viral Sandpaper-fan moment from Adelaide Test here:
“An Indian fan was kicked out of the stadium for showing sandpaper during the India vs Australia Test match in Adelaide . #AUSvIND #INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/kYK0zInYSv
— Evil Kicks Money (@EvilkicksMoney) December 9, 2024
The scandal’s wounds
The 2018 sandpaper scandal, in which Australian players Cameron Bancroft, Steve Smith, and David Warner were banned for tampering with the ball by roughening one side of it during a Test series against South Africa, was a terrible memory for Cricket Australia. As a result, the players and the squad received a lot of bad feedback, which severely damaged their reputation.
India
