Former West Indies two time T20 World Cup winning skipper Daren Sammy has said that people need to avoid the type of words used by Pakistan former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed sometime back.
Sarfaraz Ahmed had hurled a racial slur at Andile Phehlukwayo of South Africa in an ODI match in January of 2019.
Daren Sammy, while speaking with ESPNcricinfo, condemned Sarfaraz’s actions despite the latter issuing an apology following his misconduct and said that the use of racist remarks had no room in the sport regardless of one’s lack of intent.
“I heard Sarfaraz used [a] racial slur, but I did not really dive into the story. I saw it pop up, but I did not get into the details. I wasn’t aware it was that word he used back then. But I know he issued an apology right after. That in itself is why I am having this conversation, whether you didn’t mean it in any way like that we need to stop,” Daren Sammy said.
“That is why I want to have a conversation with the people who used it in the dressing room. Let’s stop it for us to avoid situations like what Sarfaraz did, thinking it was innocent. If it could mean anything that could be taken as degrading or insulting, you don’t use it. Full stopstop, “He further said.
Sammy had recently revealed that during his time in the Indian Premier League (IPL) he and Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera were dubbed ‘Kalu’ by certain teammates of theirs.
A 2014 Instagram photo of India’s Ishant Sharma, Sammy and other teammates had resurfaced and the caption referred the West Indies star as ‘Kalu’.