Former Indian Cricketer Aakash Chopra has recalled how he had to face racism while playing league cricket in England
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said that cricketers would have faced racism in one way or the other at some point of their career.
Recalling an incident when he was playing league cricket in England Aakash said that two South African players consistently spewed racial slurs at him. “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,” he said.
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Explaining what that term meant, Aakash said that it is not referring to Pakistan, but to all brown people. “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 the 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 to me at that time. My team stood by me but the truth is the person in front of me was doing it,” he added.
He also remembered the time when the Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds was called ‘monkey’ during a one day international that happened in Mumbai. “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,” he said.
