India v/s South Africa 2nd Test: Rohit Sharma fan intrudes the pitch, tries to touch his feet

Fervent fans intruding a cricket field to meet their favourite players are fast becoming a common sight in India. In the latest incident, an enthusiastic fan of Rohit Sharma breached the security cover at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune to meet his idol, causing a brief security scare.

The incident occurred on the third day of the ongoing second Test between India and South Africa. At the fall of Senuran Muthuswamy, the fan invaded the playing area and hurried up to Rohit Sharma, who was fielding in the slip cordon. Making matters worse, the intruder's attempt to touch Sharma's feet resulted in the cricketer losing his balance and falling over.

Noticing the chaos in the middle, the security personnel soon ran on to the field, grabbed the fan and dragged him away from the pitch.

Last week, in a similar incident in Visakhapatnam, a youngster had intruded the pitch to click a selfie with Virat Kohli. While these might be viewed as fanatical incidents, they have once again raised questions on the security cover being provided to the players on the field.

Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, who was on air whilst the incident took place on Saturday, slammed the security guards in this regard. The legendary cricketer opined that the guards, instead of keeping an eye on the crowd, were busy watching the game. Expressing concern over the players' security, Gavaskar urged for a tighter cover by the guards. "I say put the camera on the security and check whether they are watching the match or the crowd. This is a dangerous security issue which is what you are there for, to make sure no one goes into the ground. Anyone can cause damage to a player. It has happened in the past, why take a chance," he said.