Cricket is known as a gentleman’s game. But there have been plenty of instances when the game has been let down by the very players who play it. While it has often been rubbed under the carpet thinking maybe this was an one-off incident but history has often suggested otherwise. The issues of colourism, racism have long plagued the game. Such incidents have often left a bad taste in the mouth of the fans and the lovers of the game alike.
We at Stumpsandbails bring you few such events where racism reared its ugly head in Cricket.
5: The late Dean Jones and Hashim Amla episode
The late Dean Jones, who is known as the pioneer of ODI batting, has always been a celebrated figure. His suitcase carrying notes about the game was as popular as the man himself. He was widely regarded as one of the finest gentlemen in the game of cricket. But there was this one episode involving South African batsman, Hashim Amla which bought him disrepute. Dean Jones in a moment of letting his guard down called Hashim Amla a “Terrorist” back in 2006 referring to his long beard. The comment drew widespread backlash and Jones was immediately removed from the commentary panel.
4: Sarfaraz Khan’s distasteful remark
Former Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed was never known to articulate his thoughts well. He has often been the subject of many memes on social media thanks to his goof-ups on and off the field. But there happened an untoward incident last year when Pakistan were playing against South Africa in the 2nd ODI. Khan who was behind the stumps uttered a racial slang in Urdu to South African all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo on the stump mic. Even though Khan took to Twitter to apologise for the remark, he was met with severe criticism from fans of both teams. Sarfaraz Khan was handed a four-match ban. Khan later announced that he had ‘personally met’ Phehlukwayo and apologised for his actions.
3: Jofra Archer too was a victim of racism
During England’s tour of New Zealand last year, star player Jofra Archer was subjected to racial slurs from the stands as he walked back to the pavilion during the final day of the first Test. While Archer took to Twitter to express that it was a bit disturbing’ to hear racial slurs considering the people in New Zealand are the warmest bunch of people. The New Zealand cricket board acted immediately upon Archer’s admission and banned the racist spectator from all domestic and international fixtures in New Zealand until 2022.
A bit disturbing hearing racial insults today whilst battling to help save my team , the crowd was been amazing this week except for that one guy , @TheBarmyArmy was good as usual also
— Jofra Archer (@JofraArcher) November 25, 2019
2: Darren Sammy being subjected to colourism
This was one incident that opened up the pandora box of racism-related events in cricket. Darren Sammy, in a moving post on social media, alleged that he along with Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera were called “Kalu” by some of their Indian counterparts while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL. Sammy further went on to state that he was oblivious to the meaning of the word “Kalu”. As he thought that it meant something on the lines of a stallion. But he got to know the real meaning of the word after watching Hasan Minhaj’s news variety show, Patriot Act. The episode was a closed chapter when Sammy took to Twitter to state that he had a conversation with one of the guys and they together were looking to educate people about this aspect more.
I’m please to say that I’ve had a really interesting conversation with one of the guys and we are looking at ways to educate rather than focusing on the negatives. My brother reassured me that he operated from a place of love 💕 and I believe him. 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
— Daren Sammy (@darensammy88) June 11, 2020
1: The infamous Monkeygate saga
Since the turn of the 21st century, India and Australia have had a fierce rivalry. At times, the battle has even got bitter. During India’s tour of Australia in 2007, Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds were involved in a sledging battle. Post the completion of the acrimonious match marred by wrong umpiring decisions and one team not playing with the spirit of cricket, the Australian team levelled a racism charge against Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. It was alleged that Harbhajan Singh called Andrew Symonds “monkey”. The charges were completely refuted by the Indian team and they threatened to withdraw from the tour midway. Finally, the charges of racism were dropped against Harbhajan Singh. But this episode sowed seeds of what had to come in the era of intense mental battles on-field.
