Indian fans fire up for Boxing Day Test

Virat Kohli and his Indian teammates aren’t the only ones set to put the heat on the Aussies in the Boxing Day Test. The Swami Army is set to clap, cheer and chant every ball of their heroes’ showdown with the Aussies.

Meet the squad of Aussie cricket fans who will be cheering for the other team this summer.

At any other time, this group of Melburnians would be some of Australia’s biggest supporters. But with India set to visit Melbourne for the Boxing Day Test, the Swami Army is set to clap, cheer and chant every ball of their heroes’ showdown with the Aussies.

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And the MCG is coming to the party, granting the group special access to bring two big Punjabi drums to beat during play.

India’s answer to England’s famed Barmy Army officially has 60,000 registered members.

More than 25,000 are Australian-based and close to 10,000 of them call Melbourne home.

Angadh Oberoi, Raghav Bhatia, Shreya Kapur, Nisha Mehta, Sandip Gadakh, and Tejas Patil show their passion. Picture: Jay Town

Indian-born Aussie Angadh Oberoi, who is the managing director of the Victorian chapter of Swami Army, said: “Boxing Day is going to be huge. It’s about enjoying the cricket, singing, chanting and all that jazz’’.

Hundreds of Swami Army members have decided to follow India around the country for the entire tour this summer.

“We’ve built a community around it,’’ Mr Oberoi said.

While the Barmy Army prides itself on chanting taunts at opposition players, Mr Oberoi said the Swami Army will concentrate on firing up India’s stars.