Ex-West Indies captain Darren Sammy was left fuming after late realisation of the racist slur thrown at him during his stay at Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Sammy was an integral part of SRH during the Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons between 2013 and 2015.
In Sammy’s words, cricketers at the Hyderabad-based franchise referred to him as ‘Kaalu’, along with fellow Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera.
Initially, Sammy understood the racist jibe as a ‘strong man’ or a ‘strong stallion’. However, upon late realisation, the West Indies cricketer expressed his anger towards the term, usually popular in Hindi for referring to dark-complexioned people.
“Oh, so that’s what that meant when they called me and Thisara Perera Kalu in India when we played for Sunrisers. I just thought they were calling me a strong black man… I’m more pissed now,” Sammy wrote on his Instagram Story.
“I just learnt what that kalu meant when I played for Sunrisers in the IPL. They called me and Perera by that name. I thought it meant strong Stallion. My previous post tells me something different and I am angry,” Sammy added to his next story.
The revelation was made during one of the episodes of ‘Patriot Act by Hasan Minaj’ dedicated to casual racism within Indian families, terming members of dark complexion ‘Kaalu’, albeit, with affection.
Currently, the world is witnessing an unprecedented rage on White Supremacy and atrocities committed on the Black contingent, especially in the United States of America (USA).
The protests came in the aftermath of the gruesome killing of George Floyd in police custody. Floyd was arrested after being suspected of forgery by Minneapolis law enforcement agencies, who asphyxiated Floyd to death, using knee to the throat.
Earlier, Sammy affirmed his stance on racism in cricket with a series of tweets. With his rant, he appealed to the ICC to take firm actions against the perpetrators. The 36-year-old also garnered support from the likes of Chris Gayle and Kumar Sangakkara.
