Security is not there to watch match for free: Sunil Gavaskar raises questions on players' safety

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Fans invading the pitch during Team India's matches has become a common norm and the latest incident happened on Saturday during 2nd Test match between India and South Africa.

On Day 3 of the Pune Test, a pitch invader ran towards Indian opener Rohit Sharma in attempt to touch his feet. In the process, the invader also took Rohit down with him later security guards entered the ground to take him away.

Earlier in Mohali, the fans invaded into the ground during the 2nd T20I against South Africa which irked many critics regarding the security of the players.

On Saturday's incident legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar, who was in the commentary box lashed out at the security personals.

“These incidents happen because security people are not watching the crowd but are watching the match. This has been the perennially problem in India. The security is not there to watch the match for free. They are there to stop such interruptions from happening,” he said.

 “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 crowd. Anyone can cause damage to a player. It has happened in the past, why take a chance.”

 “Remember, it is not easy to get into the ground. There are a lot of barricades, and still these incidents are happening,” Gavaskar added.

Meanwhile, India look good for huge first-innings lead as South Africa struggled to reach 197 for eight at tea on the third day of the second Test after spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja kept up the pressure created by the pacers.

South Africa are still 404 runs behind India's gigantic first innings score of 601 for five declared.

If the morning belonged to Mohammed Shami's hostile spell and an acrobatic catch from Wriddhiman Saha, the afternoon session was all about relentless pressure created by Ashwin (2/49 in 21 overs) and Jadeja (1/51 in 25 overs).