Daren Sammy ‘s former Sunrisers Hyderabad teammates deny allegations of racism in the IPL

After Daren Sammy’s Instagram story regarding him facing racism during the IPL, his former Sunrisers Hyderabad teammates Y Venugopal Rao, Irfan Pathan and Parthiv Patel have spoken up about the issue, denying any such claims made by Sammy.

Irfan Pathan, former Indian fast bowler and the second Indian bowler to take a hat trick in a Test match, admitted that such incidents were not uncommon in domestic Cricket, but did not confirm the claims made by Sammy. He said, “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. 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.”

ALSO READ: Realised that I have been subjected to racist remarks during the IPL: Daren Sammy

The other two Cricketers, Parthiv Patel and Venugopal Rao, clearly denied such happenings.
Patel simply said, “I don’t think I have heard anyone using those (derogatory) words.”
While Venugopal Rao, now the director of the Andhra Cricket Association, said, “I’m not very sure, not aware of it.”

The two time T20 World Cup winning former skipper of the West Indies stated that he was subject to racism during his time with IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013 & 2014. Sammy wrote on his Instagram page that Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera and he were called “kalu”.

A senior official of the BCCI said, “Sammy should have reported at that time if he had any complaints. If he wants to, he can still lodge a formal complaint with the specifics and the Board can investigate if needed.”