Cricketers are constantly in the public eye because of their celebrity status, especially in India, where the sport is treated no less than a religion.
Given that every little thing that a cricketer does - whether it be on the pitch or off it - captures the attention of media, keeping a private profile can become extremely difficult.
Not just that, but the ruthlessness with which media houses operate can sometimes cause a lot of harm to the reputation of a cricketer's public image.
However, there have been several instances in the past where the cricketers' wives stood up for their husbands and defended them publicly.
The Sporting News takes a look at five such instances.
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Mayanti Langer gives stunning reply to defend Stuart Binny
Mayanti Langer, who is a prominent presenter in the cricketing fraternity, is also the wife of former India all-rounder Stuart Binny.
The duo had been subject to a lot of online trolling due to Binny's inconsistent performances for the national team.
In February 2020, a fan replied under Langer's post on X (formerly Twitter), saying "He (Binny) is helping her in carrying her baggage."
Langer replied to this comment in a subtle but savage manner.
I can carry my own baggage thank you very much 😃 he’s busy living his life, playing cricket, just being awesome in general, and not passing comments on people he doesn’t know 😊
— Mayanti Langer Binny (@MayantiLanger_B) February 4, 2020
Sakshi Singh, MS Dhoni's wife, slams journalists
It was widely reported that in the last week of March 2020, during the world's deadliest COVID-19 outbreak, MS Dhoni gave Rs. 1 lakh through a Pune-based NGO to support the families of his employees in Pune.
The former Indian captain was ridiculed and insulted for donating such a small sum of money. Sakshi Singh, however, took to X to criticize what she perceived as careless reporting on that front and accused Indian media outlets of disseminating false information.
I request all media houses to stop carrying out false news at sensitive times like these ! Shame on You ! I wonder where responsible journalism has disappeared !
— Sakshi Singh 🇮🇳❤️ (@SaakshiSRawat) March 27, 2020
Mohammed Amir's wife, Narjis Amir, defends the Pakistani cricketer
Amidst swirling rumours that Pakistani left-arm pacer Mohammed Amir had applied for a British passport in order to represent the England national cricket team in 2019, the-then 27-year-old bowler faced a lot of backlash from fans, who questioned his loyalty to Pakistan.
However, Amir's wife, Narjis, hit back at the online trolls and issued a firm clarification.
@iamamirofficial pic.twitter.com/BM0BXKSZBd
— Narjis amir (@narjiskhan25) July 30, 2019
Anushka Sharma hits back at Sunil Gavaskar for Virat Kohli comment
In September 2020, Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma, who is the wife of Virat Kohli, took to Instagram and tagged Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar in a story after the former Indian opener commented about Kohli's practice during lockdown.
Anushka Sharma slams Sunil Gavaskar’s ‘distasteful’ comment, where he while criticising Virat's performance said "Inhone lockdown mein toh bas Anushka ki gendon ki practice ki hai" 😶😶 pic.twitter.com/4Ly71UwCCT
— Pinkvilla (@pinkvilla) September 25, 2020
Ritika Sajdeh expresses unhappiness over Rohit Sharma's Mumbai Indians conflict
On Tuesday, February 6, Rohit Sharma's wife Ritika Sajdeh commented under an Instagram post in which Mark Boucher explained why Rohit was stripped of his Mumbai Indians captaincy.
Ritika Sajdeh's comment on Mark Boucher's interview talking about Hardik Pandya taking over MI captaincy. (Smash Sports Podcast). pic.twitter.com/5sAAVa5xVu
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) February 6, 2024
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