Following the death of American-African man George Floyd in Minneapolis, many prominent athletes from all around the world took to their respective social media account and raised their voice against racism. Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy was also one of them as he urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) and other cricket boards to eradicate racism from cricket. During the course, however, the Caribbean cricketer also claimed that he and Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera were subjected to racial abuse during their tenure with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Indian Premier League (IPL). Sammy, in his Instagram story, revealed that racist word ‘Kalu' was use against him and Perera.

However, his statement didn’t get backing from his former SRH teammates Irfan Pathan, Venugopal Rao and Parthiv Patel. The three Indian cricketers, who played with Sammy in the 2014 edition of the gala T20 tournament, denied having knowledge about the alleged racist slurs and also claimed that, if any such incident would have happened, it would have come out. Darren Sammy Urges ICC and Other Cricket Boards to Support #BlackLivesMatter to Fight Racism.

“I don’t think I have heard anyone using those (racist) words,” veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv told The Telegraph on Sunday. “I’m not very sure… Not aware of it,” said Venugopal, the current director of the Andhra Cricket Association.

Irfan also said that he’s unaware of any such episode. However, the former all-rounder admitted that many Indian cricketers, mainly who were hailing from southern India, were subjected to racial jibes.

Watch: Darren Sammy Alleges Racism in IPL

“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,” said the southpaw.

Well, the cash-rich league has been surrounded by controversies for many reasons. However, players facing racism was never of them. Following Sammy’s claims, a BCCI official said that the all-rounder should have reported about the incidence back then and some formal investigation could take place even now if Sammy registers a formal complaint.

“Sammy should have reported at that time if he had any complaints. If he wants he can still lodge a formal complaint with the specifics and the Board can investigate if needed,” said the official.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 08, 2020 10:43 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).