Ishant had used a racially offensive word to address Sammy in a photo taken during their time in IPL
He revealed that his fellow SRH players called him “Kaalu’, a racial slur the meaning of which he understood only recently. A user then dug up past social media posts of SRH players and in one such post made by Ishant Sharma on his official Instagram, he had addressed Sammy by the racial slur in the caption.
An angry Sammy had initially sought an apology but softened his stand and asked for a dialogue instead. The two-time T20 World Cup-winning former captain made it clear that while he has moved on like Ishant, he wouldn't stop calling out anyone who uses racist slurs.
"Surprised India has a cream called Fair & Lovely, it shows colorism," says Daren Sammy
"I don't hold grudges. I have spoken to Ishant Sharma. I consider him a brother like I did back in 2014 and '15 when playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad," Sammy told PTI in an interview facilitated by his Caribbean Premier League franchise St Lucia Zouks.
"But again if I find out that a possible racial slur is being used to describe me, no matter what time I find out, I will ask questions about it and that's what I did. I have spoken and voiced my opinion and I am moving on. All these issues started a conversation in the cricket fraternity. I have no regrets talking about that," he said.
Sammy was one of the first cricketers to speak about racism in cricket after police brutality led to the death of African-American George Floyd in the USA.
"For years, we have been racially discriminated on the basis of our color. We have gone through so much as a race, as people. George Floyd was the straw that broke the camel's back. People had to raise their voice against the systemic injustice, police brutality against people of color," the former Caribbean captain said.
(PTI inputs)