English cricketer Jofra Archer, who was dropped for violating the bio-secure conditions ahead of the second Test against West Indies, has spoken about the unfair criticism and the racial abuse he received during the lockdown.
Writing in his column for dailymail.co.uk, Archer said that he has been on the receiving end of racial slurs on social media during the isolation period. ”Some of the abuse I have taken over the past few days on Instagram has been racist and I have decided that enough is enough,” he wrote.
He said that from here on he would take every such slur on the official terms through the ECB. “Since Wilfried Zaha, the Crystal Palace footballer, was abused by a 12-year-old online I drew a line and I will not allow anything to pass, so I have forwarded on my complaints to the ECB and that will go through the correct process.”
Jofra has been severely criticised for breaking the ground rules during the tour and he joined the team after completing the isolation period and testing negative twice. “I found I was struggling for motivation in the circumstances when it came to returning to bowling in the nets. When I walked outside of my room for the first time since being placed into self-isolation for breaking the COVID-19 protocols, I heard the cameras clicking with every single step I took,” he wrote.
He said that the whole spectacle made him feel uneasy. “I know what I did was an error of judgement and I have suffered the consequences of that. I haven’t committed a crime and I want to start feeling myself again.”
He added that he has been turning to Ben Stokes, who had advised him on how to deal with the spotlight in international sport. “I spoke briefly to the doctor about how I’m feeling and also to Ben Stokes on Monday night. Ben tried to advise me on how to deal with being in the spotlight of international sport. He vowed to back me and support me. Now, I need to be 100 percent mentally right so that I can throw myself into my cricket this week,” Archer added.
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