Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has revealed that he faced racial abuses while playing league cricket in England. Chopra’s comments come after West Indies all-rounder Darren Sammy admitted that he was subjected to racism during his days with the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“We (cricketers) at one point or the other, have been victims of racism. I remember when I used to play league cricket in England, there were two South African is one of the opposition teams and both of them really went on an abusive spree. Even when I was at the non-striker’s end, they were after my life. They were constantly calling me Paki,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
A massive outbreak of anti-racism protest has come to fore in various parts of the planet after a black civilian, George Floyd, was choked to death by a white police officer in Minneapolis, United States of America, in the last week of May.
Chopra, who has featured in 10 Test matches for India, went deep into the topic and explained how strongly rooted the matter of racism was and how all sections of the society were affected by it. The former opener was also seen speaking about the infamous Monkeygate incident involving Andrew Symonds.
“Now many believe Paki is a short form of Pakistan but that is not true. If you are brown skinned. If you’re anywhere from Asian subcontinent, this term is used to racially abuse. You’re called Paki, and nobody likes it. The moment you call anybody Paki in England, you know the intention behind it. That’s what happened with me at that time. My team stood by me but the truth is the person in front of me was doing it.
“Even if you’re white-skinned, it happens then as well. When they come to this part of the world, they also subjected to this kind of behaviour. In fact, when Andrew Symonds came to India, so many Monkey chants started filling up the Wankhede Stadium. That is when people were told that your entry will be banned,” Chopra said.