Indian players were subjected to racial comments, confirms Cricket Australia

Last updated on February 6th, 2021 at 09:00 am

The India tour to Australia was as much in news for the controversies around the Indian, Australian players as it was for the remarkable journey of the Indian side. One of the worst incidents that happened during the tour was Indian players being subjected to racial abuse in Australia. 

On Wednesday, Cricket Australia confirmed that the Indian side indeed suffered racial attacks in Australia during the third test in Sydney. Soon after the incident took place, the Indian side complained about the racial experience that was directed towards Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. 

The incident happened during the second and third day of the test match. Siraj’s experience on the Sydney ground was made worse as the crowd’s behaviour towards the bowler was unacceptable. The Indian team requested for a proper investigation and Seam Carrol headed the probe team. He is also the CA’s Head of Integrity and Security. 

He provided an update on the matter on January 27. Carrol said, “CA confirms that members of the Indian cricket team were subjected to racial abuse. CA’s own investigation into the matter remains open, with CCTV footage, ticketing data, and interviews with spectators still being analyzed in an attempt to locate those responsibly. Spectators who are found to have breached CA’s Anti-Harassment Code face lengthy bans, further sanctions, and referral to NSW Police. CA’s investigation concluded that the spectators filmed and/or photographed by the media in the Brewongle Stand concourse at the conclusion of the 86th over on day three of the Test did not engage in racist behavior.”

The website of the team management read that the investigation is in process and an update has been submitted with regards to the crowd’s behavior at the SCG. After the Indian team came back, Siraj revealed that the crowd kept on abusing him for no reason whatsoever. 

CA also noted that it did not tolerate any kind of discriminatory behavior in any form especially when they are playing the part of hosts for the Border-Gavaskar series. It also apologized to the Indian cricket team. The statement also added that confirmation from NSW is required for it to take any kind of action and till then, it will not comment further on the matter. 

Siraj reported the matter to captain Ajinkya Rahane. He said that he did not want to hamper his performance. “I told the entire matter to captain Rahane. Umpires told us that you can walk off the field and leave the game but Ajju Bhai told the umpire that we will not leave, we respect the game.”