Darren Sammy Calls For Spreading Anti-Racism Awareness Among Young Cricketers

Darren Sammy, former two-time T20 World Cup-winning West Indies captain, feels just like spreading awareness regarding anti-doping and anti-corruption, young cricketers should also be taught about anti-racism to ensure a systematic reduction in racist incidents in cricket.

Darren Sammy had recently come out on social media and claimed he and Thisara Perera used to be called ‘Kalu’- a derogatory word used to describe black people in the Indian subcontinent – by his Sunrisers Hyderabad teammates during his stint in the IPL, demanding them to approach and explain him their exact reasons behind using that word.

Sammy was speaking during the International Cricket Council’s online interview series ‘Inside Out’, a session which was moderated by former West Indies fast bowler-turned commentator Ian Bishop, former England Women cricketer Isa Guha, former South African all-rounder JP Duminy, former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody and Bazid Khan.

“There is a need for education at a systematic level. Just as there is an emphasis on education around anti-doping or anti-corruption, the same emphasis must be given to educating the youth on anti-racism in order to help young cricketers understand diversity in cricket and adapt early on,” Sammy said.

Also Read: Darren Sammy Asserts He Wasn’t Aware Of The Exact Meaning Of ‘Kalu’ When Sarfaraz Ahmed Was Reprimanded For Using The Same

After Darren Sammy, Isa Guha, Tom Moody and Ian Bishop have their say on racism

Racism has been a point of contention ever since African-American George Floyd was killed by the Minneapolis police in the United States of America, sparking worldwide #BlackLivesMatter campaign

“Leaders in our cricket community whether it is a captain, senior player, a coach, or an administrator, we have an enormous responsibility as an educator along with many different platforms,” Tom Moody said.

“One of those platforms I think that has been neglected and not given the attention that is required and that is the understanding of the different levels of racism that exists within the game,” he added.

Isa Guha, on the other hand, felt that time is ripe for change while giving an example of the diversity that exists in the England team.

“We have a real opportunity with cricket because it does cross different races, backgrounds, and religions, and does bring all of these different people together,” said Guha.

“It is really a sport that unites everyone. I mean, look at the current England (men’s) team, we stumbled upon this team that is so diverse. But the most important thing for me is representation.” she added.

Ian Bishop made the closing remarks where he said-

“There is no one here who is demanding a free gift, we all work very diligently and very hard and what we want to see is equality across the globe and an equal chance for everyone.”

Also Read: Had An Interesting Conversation With One Of The Guys: Darren Sammy After Kalu Jibe From Ex-SRH Teammates