Former India opener Gautam Gambhir said in light of the recent racial abuse incident of Indian players, who were harassed by drunk fans in SCG that it is common for players to face such abuse in Australia and South Africa and it must come to an end.
The SCG Test that ended in an enthralling draw, with battered and injured Indian batsmen batting the whole day to frustrate the home team. However, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah were targeted by fans in SCG stands, who hurled choicest racial slurs at the Indian stars throughout days three, and four.
Reportedly, Siraj was called a ‘brown dog’, a ‘big monkey’, while Bumrah suffered similar jibes before they and captain Ajinkya Rahane got the match officials involved, which resulted in play being halted, as police escorted the unruly fans out of the stadium.
However Gambhir on Star Sports show ‘cricket connected’ said, “Very unfortunate and that is something which is absolutely not acceptable in any sport. Not only cricket but in any sport and that’s where I think there need to be stricter laws.”
“When it happens to a certain player, it is only that individual who feels about it. You do get abused, in places like South Africa, Australia, when you are playing in a Boxing Day Test match and that kind of stuff as well,” he added.
The Australian players had supported their Indian counterparts after the incidents of racism, with skipper Tim Paine joining the Indian team huddle after Siraj’s complaints on the fourth day of the drawn match.
“…you got to accept that, but it depends what kind of abuse that is and what all has been said to you, that is something which is not acceptable, especially on your color of skin and the abuse as well,” Gambhir said.
He added, “It does happen a lot, especially in places like Australia and South Africa. So, these things need to be stopped.”
(PTI inputs)
