Sammy’s Ex-teammate Denies Racist Slur Allegation, Admits Incidents Common in Domestic Cricket

When the world is uniting against racism, former West Indies skipper Daren Sammy made shocking revelations about racism in cricket. The Carib said that he was subject to racism during his time with IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013 & 2014.

But his former teammates have denied any such claims by Sammy.

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In fact the BCCI too didn’t receive any such complaint in the history of IPL.

The World T20-winning West Indies captain, who played for the Sunrisers in 2013 and 2014, wrote on his Instagram page that Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera and he were called “kalu”.

Their former teammates Parthiv Patel, Irfan Pathan and Y Venugopal Rao have refuted such claims.

“I don’t think I have heard anyone using those (derogatory) words,” wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv, who has played 25 Tests and 38 ODIs for India, said on Sunday.

“I’m not very sure… Not aware of it,” said Venugopal, director of the Andhra Cricket Association.

But Irfan did admit that such incidents weren’t uncommon in domestic cricket.

“I was there with him (Sammy) in 2014. I feel had this really happened, the matter would definitely have been discussed. So I’m not aware of such things as nothing was discussed in a larger way.

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“But at the same time, we need to educate our people because I’ve seen them (racial jibes) in domestic cricket.

“Some of our cricketers from the south, especially, have faced that in the northern and western parts of the country, though I don’t want to name anyone.

“What happens is among the crowd, someone tries to act like a jester. It’s not because people are racist, but it’s like someone trying to be popular by saying something seemingly funny that amounts to crossing the line on certain occasions,” Pathan said.

A senior Board official, said, “Sammy should have reported at that time if he had any complaints.

“If he wants he can still lodge a formal complaint with the specifics and the Board can investigate if needed.”