The sparring regarding the upcoming ICC T20 Men’s World Cup Super 8 clash between India and South Africa started in earnest on Wednesday after Star Sports India shared their promo for the match on social media.
Whether banter or barb, the short clip from the official broadcast partner of the tournament in India certainly stirred emotions after being posted on X.
In it, an Indian and a South African fan can be seen vying for the last cupcake — an apparent reference and dig at President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has been nicknamed ‘Cupcake’ by the South African public — in what is seemingly a picturesque café.
#TeamIndia ki do purani aadatein hain… Jeetna. Aur history repeat karna 🇮🇳🤩
The Proteas fan rushes forward to grab the pink confectionery, snarfing down the sponge with a degree of arrogance while declaring to his opponent that he has “missed it”. Rather nonchalantly, the Indian fan rebuffs the “loss” by apologising to the South African supporter.
“For what?” asks the Proteas fan incongruously, to which the Indian fan confidently replies: “For beating South Africa in the 2024 T20 World Cup.” In that edition of the tournament, South Africa narrowly lost by seven runs to India in the final in the Caribbean.
Shocked, the South African fan chokes on the cupcake — a potshot at the Proteas’ tag as “chokers” in major ICC events. The Indian fan responds by asking, “Hey, choking? We’ll repeat the history of ’24. We will defeat the Proteas again.”
While shooting for a humorous tone, many accounts on X believed the advert was in poor taste, with one top post declaring: “To all South African and non-Indian cricket fans: this is not how we feel about your teams.
“This petty ad campaign is ridiculous, shameful, and lacks creativity. It doesn’t represent us Indian fans at all. Please ignore it. Let’s celebrate cricket together.”
I really wish Star Sports to lose the Broadcasting rights of ICC Tournaments and IPL asap.
First 300 Drama, now these Cringe ads, bootlicking 2-3 individuals and 1-2 big teams.
0 creativity. 0 Nostalgia. 0 depth in cricketing discussions.
Another read: “Banter is part of the game, but this feels unnecessary. Cricket is meant to bring people together, not breed this kind of negativity.
“Quality cricket doesn’t need ‘disgusting’ promos to build hype. Let the skills on the field do the talking on Sunday!”
While the “chokers” joke is an old hat — one the Proteas have worked hard to shed in recent years — let it be known that only South Africans get to call Ramaphosa “Cupcake”.
That alone should be more than enough motivation for the captain Aiden Markram and Co to shock the hosts on Sunday (match start 3.30pm) in the 132,000-seater Narendra Modi Stadium.
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