Former India pacer and current J&K mentor Irfan Pathan has denied racism allegations levied by former West Indian skipper Darren Sammy but has accepted that racism do exist and every now and than players had to face that.
He said that he experienced racial slurs being thrown around in the Indian domestic scene.
“I was there with him (Sammy) in 2014. I feel had this really happened, the matter would definitely have been discussed. So I’m not aware of such things as nothing was discussed in a larger way. But at the same time, we need to educate our people because I’ve seen them (racial jibes) in domestic cricket,” Pathan was quoted as saying.
“Some of our cricketers from the south, especially, have faced that in the northern and western parts of the country, though I don’t want to name anyone,” he added.
Another Indian cricketer who was also part of Sunrisers Hyderabad Parthiv Patel has also denied Sammy’s allegations.
“I don’t think I have heard anyone using those (derogatory) words,” said Patel.
Earlier Darren Sammy had expressed his disappointment after coming to know the meaning of the hindi word ‘kalu’, a racial taunt he claimed was hurled at him during his time with the IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Sammy used to think that the word originally meant ‘strong stallion’ but now came to know otherwise.
“I just learnt what that kalu meant when I played for Sunrisers in the IPL. They called me and Perera by that name. I thought it meant strong Stallion. My previous post tells me something different and I am angry,” said Sammy on his instagram.