Former India leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan revealed that he faced color discrimination during his playing days. He responded to a fan's tweet who was praising his knowledge of the game and points made during commentary.
The fan wrote, "For all the criticism they get about their comm (comments) people like @Laxmansivarama1 sound so good when they r talking about spinners. The little nuances, finer aspects and technicalities of spin they talk r excellent points for any young spinner or coaches to listen (sic)".
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Sivaramakrishnan replied to the tweet and wrote that discrimination based on color doesn't affect him anymore as he has faced it all his life. "I have been criticized and color discriminated all my life, so it doesn’t bother me anymore. This, unfortunately, happens in our own country," he tweeted.
The 55-year-old made his debut for India in 1983 and went on to play 9 Test and 16 ODI matches, picking up 26 and 15 wickets respectively. He played overall 76 first-class matches and bagged 154 wickets with the best figure of 7/28.
Earlier in August 2017, India and Tamil Nadu opener, Abhinav Mukund had shared that he has been called names because of his skin color. "I am writing today not to garner sympathy or attention but with the hope to change the mindset of people on an issue I feel strongly about.
"I have been traveling a lot within and outside our country since I was 15. Ever since I was young, people’s obsession with my skin color has always been a mystery to me," a part of his post read.
Ex-Indian cricketer Dodda Ganesh, who played in 4 Tests and one ODI in 1997, had also opened up about his experience of racial discrimination. "This story of @mukundabhinav, reminded me of the racial jibes I went through 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," he tweeted.
