“I SEE PEOPLE HURLING ABUSES LEFT, RIGHT AND CENTRE...”: INDIAN CRICKETERS WHO WERE SUBJECTED TO RACISM SHARE THEIR STORIES

Since the death of George Floyd in the United States, activists and peaceful protestors from across the world have been standing up against racism. Meanwhile, a few Indian cricketers have taken to social media platforms to confess that they have been subjected to racism.

Indian Batsman Abhinav Mukund had previously taken to twitter and said, "I have been travelling a lot within and outside our country since I was 15. Ever since I was young, people’s obsession with my skin colour has always been a mystery to me. Anyone who follows cricket would understand the obvious. I have played and trained day in and day out in the sun and not once have I regretted the fact that I have tanned or lost a couple of shades. It is simply because I love what I do and I have been able to achieve certain things only because I have spent hours outdoors. I come from Chennai, probably one of the hottest places in our country and I have gladly spent most of my adult life in the cricket ground.

“I have laughed and shrugged it off because I had bigger goals! Affected young, I toughened up because this was never something that would pull me down. There were many times when I chose not to dignify these insults with responses. With the rise of social media, it has gone to a magnitude that I see people hurling abuses left, right, and centre at something I have absolutely no control over. Fair isn’t the only lovely or handsome guys. Stay true, stay focused, be comfortable in your own skin.”

Although he had shared this story back in 2017 when he was playing a test series in Sri Lanka, it resurfaced on twitter after the death of George Floyd. Further, former Indian bowler Dodda Ganesh shared Mukund’s story and jolted his own experience.

Ganesh said that he himself was subjected to racial taunts, when he played for India. He wrote, “This story of @mukundabhinav reminded me of the racial jibes I went thorough in my playing days. Only an Indian legend was witness to it. It only made me strong & didn’t deter me from playing for Ind & ovr 100 mts for Karnataka.”

Many Indian Cricketers have shown support on social media for those who have been subjected to racism. Some have also been posting black images to support the cause that many are fighting for in the U.S.