When Mumbai Indians took the field against Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday afternoon at Wankhede, few would have thought that a moment where a mother and her son cheering from the stands, would become the flashpoint of a debate around the sport and society.

Photos of sports broadcaster Sanjana Ganesan and her 1.5-year-old son, Angad, watching Jasprit Bumrah play were circulated across social media soon after the game. And, a section of users unleashed a barrage of unwarranted scrutiny.

Mocking Angad’s neutral facial expressions, some went as far as making insensitive assumptions about the toddler's mental state, using heavy words like "trauma" and "depression" for a 2-year-old toddler.

The wife of India’s pace spearhead took to Instagram to pen an emotional, no-holds-barred letter calling out the viciousness.

"Our son is NOT a topic for your entertainment. We have no interest in our son being viral Internet content or national news, with unnecessarily opinionated keyboard warriors deciding who Angad is, what his problem is, what his personality is, from 3 seconds of footage," she wrote.

"He is one and a half years old. Throwing around words like trauma and depression in reference to a baby says so much about who we're becoming as a community and it's honestly really sad," added Ganeshan.

Many swung behind her, praising her courage and emphasising the need for sensitivity when it comes to children.

One user commented, "Absolutely right, no one has the right to judge a baby’s emotions. People need to stop hiding behind keyboards." Another added, "A 1.5-year-old should be left alone. The internet's toxicity is unbelievable."

Yet, beyond the momentary outrage lies a deeper, more troubling pattern. A pattern Indian sport has seen play out far too many times.

Because Sanjana and Angad are not the first.

Years ago, it was Anushka Sharma who bore the brunt of angry fans after Virat Kohli had a poor day on the cricket field. During the 2015 World Cup semi-final against Australia, Kohli's low score triggered vicious trolling, with many blaming Anushka, then his girlfriend, for being a "distraction." Memes flooded the internet. It took years for the narrative to shift, and even then, the scars linger.

From Yuvraj Singh’s family facing vilification during his cancer battle to Shikhar Dhawan's personal life being dissected whenever his form dipped, Indian cricket has a long and shameful history of dragging players' loved ones into battles.

The targeting follows a pattern: when players succeed, their families are charming backstories. When they stumble, those same families — wives, children, parents — are turned into scapegoats.

Sanjana's anger is not just personal. It speaks to a wider exhaustion among families of public figures who live under the constant threat of invasion as their moments of joy turned into internet fodder.

In her post, Sanjana acknowledged the risks of bringing a child into the glaring eye of cricket stadium cameras but defended her right to be present to support her husband.

"I completely understand the implications of bringing a child to a cricket stadium filled with cameras... but please understand that Angad and I were there to support Jasprit and nothing else," the post read.