Team India Players Carry Own Luggage as Raipur Airport Escalator Fails; Viral Video Sparks Outrage

The India–South Africa ODI series has been thrilling so far, with India winning the first match in Ranchi and South Africa leveling the series in Raipur. As the teams gear up for the series decider in Visakhapatnam on Saturday, December 6, a video of Indian players at the Raipur airport has gone viral on social media—sparking widespread criticism of the airport management.

In the viral clip, coach Gautam Gambhir, along with senior players Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, can be seen carrying their own luggage up a non-functional escalator. Fans online are questioning how such a situation could occur at a major airport that recently hosted the cricket match.

According to reports, the video was recorded at Raipur Airport, where the escalator had stopped working. This happened when both Indian and South African squads had landed there for the second ODI.

The video shows the escalator completely shut down, forcing all players to manually carry their bags up the steps—an unusual and unexpected inconvenience for an international sports team.

The incident quickly triggered online laughter and criticism aimed at Raipur Airport management.

One user tagged the airport's official social media account and wrote:

"This is the escalator at Raipur airport which is not working, because of which the Indian team players have to carry their luggage and walk up. It’s such a big and modern airport, yet they can’t even fix one escalator. And even after knowing that the Indian team was going to arrive here, they still didn’t get it repaired. How can they cause so much inconvenience?"

<

This is the escalator at Raipur airport which is not working, because of which the Indian team players have to carry their luggage and walk up. It’s such a big and modern airport, yet they can’t even fix one escalator. And even after knowing that the Indian team was going to… pic.twitter.com/WzcrI6P7uO

— (@rushiii_12) December 5, 2025 >