Mohammed Siraj, the Indian fast bowler, recounted the racial slurs he experienced while on India’s tour to Australia in 2021. The cricketer shared that some Australian fans in the stadium called him a “black monkey.” While Siraj initially did not pay much attention to it on the first day. He felt compelled to raise the issue with the umpires after the second incident on the following day.
“complain about racism” Mohd. Siraj
“When I was called a black monkey and things like that in Australia, I ignored them on the first day, thinking the people were drunk. But when it happened on the second day, I decided to go up to the umpires and complain about racism and I conveyed it to Ajju bhai (Ajinkya Rahane) who went to the umpires,” Siraj said while speaking on RCB Podcast.
During India’s tour, Ajinkya Rahane was captaining the team in place of Virat Kohli, who had left for personal reasons after the test. When Mohammed Siraj informed Rahane about the racist abuse he faced from some Australian spectators, Rahane brought the matter to the attention of the on-field umpires. Consequently, the spectators who made such comments were ejected from the stadium.
“So, the umpires told him you are free to leave the ground till the matter is settled. But Ajju bhai said: ‘We respect cricket and why should we leave the ground? But remove those people who are abusive and why should we leave the ground? We then focused on cricket as people would keep saying all these things,”
Siraj added.
Siraj is considered one of the top fast bowlers in India at present. He played a crucial role in the Indian team’s triumph in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He was also a member of the Indian team that recently defeated Australia at home. However, in the first Test in Nagpur, he was only able to take one wicket. He remained wicketless in the second and third Tests. Consequently, he was rested for the fourth Test.
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