Sports Desk- West Indies cricketer Daren Sammy have voiced against racism. Many cricketers have come in his support. A six-year-old Instagram post of Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma is recirculating on social media platforms following Darren Sammy’s allegations of potential racial slur, during his stint with the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League.
Sammy, while commenting on the protests over African-American George Floyd’s death in the US, had spoken about being called ‘Kalu’ while he was in India.
Sammy said having understood the meaning only now, he feels disappointed with his teammates, who addressed him by that nickname during his 2013-2014 stint with SRH.
One of them could be Ishant, who had shared a group picture also featuring Sammy, on May 14, 2014, using ‘Kalu’ to identify the West Indian in it. The same year, even Sammy called himself ‘Kalu’ in a social media post to offer birthday wishes to VVS Laxman – the SRH mentor at that time.
who is now an honorary citizen of Pakistan, had earlier stated that even Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera was referred to with the same word during the IPL, Sammy said in his latest Instagram post.
While are questioning why Sammy was silent all these years, the cricketer words indicate he was not aware that the term was insulting. He states his anger swelled after he listened to Indian-origin American comedian Hasan Minhaj explain how “some in his culture” describe black people.
So, instantly I remember when I played for SunRisers Hyderabad in 2013 and 2014. I was called that exact same word that he described… that was degrading, to us black people,” Sammy said.
