Former West Indies skipper Darren Sammy has called out Indian T20 League outfit Hyderabad and his former teammates from the team for alleged racial abuse that he faced while playing between 2013-14. Sammy had earlier alleged that his teammate and Sri Lankan batsman Thisara Perera and Sammy were called 'Kalu', which translates to ‘black’ in Hindi.
Although there was some confusion whether the slurs came from the dressing room or the crowd, Sammy took to Instagram to stress that the slurs came from within the dressing room. "Knowledge is power. So recently I discovered a word that I was being called was not what it actually meant, I need some answers. So, before I start calling out names, I need these individuals to reach out and please tell me there's another meaning to that word and when I was being called it, it was all in love," read the caption of the post.
Adding to this, Sammy said in the video, "I have played all over the world and I have been loved by many people. I have embraced all the dressing rooms where I have played, so I was listening to Hasan Minhaj as to how some of the people in his culture describe black people. This does not apply to all people, so after I found out a meaning of a certain word, I had said I was angry on finding out the meaning and it was degrading, instantly I remembered when I played for Hyderabad in 2013-14, I was being called the exact same word which is degrading to us black people."
"I will be messaging those people; you guys know who you are. I must admit at that time when I was being called that, I didn't know what it meant, I thought the word meant strong stallion or whatever it is, and I saw no problems because I was ignorant about what it meant. But every time I and Thisara Perera were called with that word, there was laughter at that moment. Me being a team man, I thought teammates are happy, so it must be something funny," Sammy said.
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"I have had great memories in all dressing rooms I've played in, I have always been one to build a team, not bring it down. So, all those who used to call me with that word - you guys know yourself - reach out to me, let's have a conversation. If it was in a bad way then I would be really disappointed, and I'll still be angry and deserve an apology from you guys as I saw all of you guys as my brothers. So, talk to me, reach out to me and clear the air,” the Windies allrounder appealed.
"Now, I realise that it wasn't funny. I realise it was degrading, I will be texting you guys and I will ask you 'when you repeatedly called me over and over again - I was even saying that's my name - did you all mean it in any bad way or in a degrading way?’” Sammy said while questioning the integrity of some of his teammates who remain unnamed.
Sammy said he was ignorant back then and hoped the concerned players will start a conversation with him to clear the air. A few of his teammates during those two seasons include Shikhar Dhawan, Parthiv Patel, Amit Mishra, and Ishant Sharma, among others. The team was coached by Tom Moody with Waqar Younis as their bowling coach while V. V. S. Laxman and Kris Srikkanth were appointed as the mentors.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Asif Hassan
