Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy alleged that he faced racial slurs directed to him on many occasions, including the time when he played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, media reports stated.

Sammy took to Instagram and posted a caption stating, “I just learned what that ‘kalu’ meant when I played for Sunrisers in the IPL. They call me and Perera by that name. I thought it meant strong Stallion. My previous post tells me something different and I’m angry.”

His earlier post read, “Oh so that’s what that meant when they called me and @tp_perera kalu in India when we played for Sunrisers. I just thought they were calling me strong black man… I’m more piss (sic) now.”

Sammy has taken the matter to the International Cricket Council (ICC) appealing the international body to voice out against racism. Sammy is reportedly the first cricketer to put the ICC in the line of fire, as the #BlackLivesMatter campaign gathers steam by the day.

“@ICC and all the other boards are you guys not seeing what’s happening to ppl like me? Are you not gonna speak against the social injustice against my kind. This is not only about America. This happens everyday #BlackLivesMatter now is not the time to be silent. I wanna hear u,” Sammy, who played 38 Tests, 126 ODIs and 68 T20 Internationals, posted on Twitter.

Sammy’s follow-up tweet said: “For too long black people have suffered. I’m all the way in St Lucia and I’m frustrated If you see me as a teammate then you see #GeorgeFloyd Can you be part of the change by showing your support. #BlackLivesMatter”. Sammy posted his tweets on June 2.

Sammy’s strong reaction came amid the ongoing protest against systemic racism has taken the street in the US after a 46-year-old African-American George Floyd was killed by a white policeman on May 25.

A lot of sportspersons have also lent their support to the protest.

Chris Gayle, another West Indies cricketer, too, has voiced against racism prevalent in cricket. He wrote on his Instagram, “I have travelled the globe and experience racial remarks towards me because I am black, believe me, the list goes on.”

On Saturday, Sachin Tendulkar quoted Nelson Mandela and posted on Twitter, “Nelson Mandela once said, ‘Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to unite the world in a way that little else does.’ Wise words.”

Meanwhile, the ICC has maintained that it has a zero-tolerance towards racism or homophobia, and the offenders could even be punished with a life ban.

comment COMMENT NOW