Does racism exist in world cricket?

Readers' responses...

Name: Jay

Comment:I believe racism exists in the game. I further believe that it exists in both directions, that is not only by whites against coloureds but also by coloureds against the whites, although this is not often recoegnised. The principle reason is the difference in cultures as opposed to any colonial hangovers on either side. For instance it is so much easier eveidently for Indians, Sri Lankans, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis to get along with each other merely because they share a common ancestry and culture although the relationships amongst some of these cpountries, needless to say, is atrocious. Likewise, the relationships between England, New Zealand, Australia and to a lesser extent South Africa at a cultural level sugests that they will tend to relate better with each other. Interestingly, the West Indies has more commonalities with the white cricket playing nations than with the coloured nations and that may explain why it sides with the white nations. I believe it is time to probe the matter further, if only to bridge the divide.

Name:Madhu

Comment:I think when things are highly competitive and too much money is involved, ugly things like Racism, match fixing definitely come into picture. Doesn't it exist in domesitic cricket? If not, why would Vinod Kambli be literally crucified by brahmin Gavaskar. Kambli and Tendulkar were both friends and of same level but Sachin got the boost and blessings from rulers while Kambli succumbed to the racism..

Name:Vissa V. Rammohan

Comment:Absolutely! Cricket is a British creation and what is British culture without racism? Other cricketing countries have (ill advisedly) put up with the undercurrent of racism for too long.

Comment:who better to ask this question than a cricket lover from the sub continent.it is deep to the roots! can you remind me the last time a white bowler was reported for chucking!have a look down the list and it will be much easier for me to make you all aware of my answer to the question. who can forget the incident with the indian team in south africa...when in the past have four to five members of a team been punished for bad behavior in a single match...if u measure everyone with the same rope then there won't b an australian team by now !

Name:Krishna D.

Comment:Of course, racism does exist in cricket. A reporter from the UK newspaper Guardian accompaned Aussie players on a tour to a non-white country not too long ago. The British journalist reported offensive racist remarks and insulting attitudes towards locals by the entire team... Darren Lehmann is no anamoly. Just look at the all-white Aussie team in a country which has tidy percentages of other races.

Name:Cute One

Comment:Definitely. Take the evidence of "Allan Donald - South Africa" hurling abuses to Rahul Dravid, during India's tour to South Africa. That was watched by all viewers and he was not even reprimanded, let alone be fined. Well, the Aussies are known for passing snide remarks.

Name:Bud

Comment:Yes I believe that racism exists in Cricket. This is quiet clear if you look into all the series played in Australia in the recent years. In my opinion Arjuna ranatunga is the correct person to ask this question. Australian players should be repremended harshly for thier actions on the the ground.

Name:Chakravarthy Akella

Comment:There are racist people all around the world. So it is obvious that some of them would be into cricket as well. This does not make cricket a racist game. But at the same time it is doubtless fact that racism exists in cricket as seen from the actions of Darren Lehmann.

Name:venkat

Comment:YES, very much yes. How is that Glenn Mcgrath gets away with his abusive behaviour. Can we forget Michael Slater-Rahul Dravid episode or for that matter the Mike Denness transparent racist decisions ?? Howz that ICC headed by White men (read racists) treat the Indian board, the comments their outbursts are clearly in indicators of racism.

Name:Ashish K Parekh

Comment:Yes it does, unfortunatly !!!! And it is so surprising to see that. Because of few racist people, the entire community is considered as racist. I hope the so called learned people all around the world understand just one thing that irrespective of the color of their skin, the almighty GOD has given us all just one color of blood wch is RED. So if the GOD is not differentiating between us, who are they to do so ? May GOD help them.

Name:Amit Kelovkar

Comment:Of course it does. It is blatant at times. A Virendra Sehwag gets a match ban for excessive appealing (he was just trying to win a test match for India) where as a Glen McGrath and rest of the aussies get away with severe foul language on field. There are millions of other examples which could be cited.

Name:Satya

Comment: Racism does exist in cricket. It usually ranges from banter and sledging to verbal abuse. The people who bear the brunt of it are Asian batsmen, the likes of Rahul Dravid and Marvan Atapattu. The guilty comprise fast bowlers who have taken stick such as Alan Donald or in-fielders. The best way to make them bite their tongue is to take the fight to the enemy camp. Ironically, you earn their respect this way. Laxman did just that and earned an applause from Brett Lee and the Australian camp after hitting a majestic 142. Take it with your ears. Give it back with your bat.

Name:Rajkumar

Comment: Definetly racism exists in Cricket. Take the 2nd test match in 2001 between India and South Africa. In a single match 6 of Indian players either banned or fined for nothing whereas no SA players have been banned or fined for misbehaving in the field. What does this mean?

Name:Bhushan Chatnani

Comment:I think racism does exist in cricket. It doesnt set a good example when players of certain countries like Australia commit some inappropriate actions, which are then overlooked or downplayed by the administrators. On the other hand, one example which comes to mind is the suspension of more than half the Indian team in South Africa when they were unjustly dealt with by a British umpire for ball tampering. It is high time the administrators deal with everyone fairly. It is India and other South asian countries which provide cricket with most sponsorships, entertaining cricket etc. If they arent treated fairly, cricket will be the loser.

Name: Chandrasekaran P.K

Comment:i fully agree with he assertion that racism exists in cricket. this evidenced by the fact that happened during South africa series to indian players and the differential treatment to the australians in disciplinary matters.

Name: Ravi

Comment:yes it does. Australia are the biggest culprits. They use racism as tactics, particularly against Sub-continental teams. They know they cant play Sri Lanka's Murali, or Pakistan's fiersome pace attack. Nor can they get the master batsman Sachin out twice in a test match. Thus, before any subcontinental team comes for a tour, the Aussies prepare by playing propoganda wars. Same for the English, who doesnt remember the English papers had stories all over about Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis's ball tampering in the 92 test series, where Pakistan beat the English 2-0 and embarassed them. All because the English batsmen did not know how to play them! Such is the sad state of affairs, but the sub continent teams wil soon rule the roost. England has already become a sub standard team, and with All of SL, Pakistan and India on the way up, WATCH OUT Australia!

Name: Sameet

Comment:Yes it does,the Australians are always let off the hook no matter what they do. Inspite of sledging being an offence,this does not stop them.

Name:Koshy Varghese

Comment: I believe racism exists in every facet of the game starting with the behavioural pattern amongst cricketers from each country. The snide remarks passed by the Australians against most coloured teams and the remarks made by the South Africans against the Indian's ( Pat Symcoks & Lance Kluesner) in Afrikaans are just two examples. On the chucking issue, Dalmia discriminated in favour of Shoaib - seems like a quid-pro-quo - with not having any further attention against Brett Lee.Even in Indian cricket, in the South - Tamil Nadu, it is very difficult to make the Ranji team unless you are a Tamil Brahmin. On the international scene there is definitly a set of different standards for the white nations and another for the non-white ones.Unfortunately, we had, at the helm of affairs two Aussies - Malcolm Speed & Gray - who, together, showed us the darker side of rasicm - note the treatment meted out to the Indian players in South Africa( Courtesy M.Denness). If Pollock and G.Mcgrath get away with what they do, I wonder what the Indian's did wrong. This subject will only die down when the Asian cricket council gets stronger and on the domestic scene when we get adminstrators who, like Saurav Ganguly,are more interested in Indian cricket than their zones, castes and such parochial thoughts.

Name: Hiten

Comment:Yes, racism does exist in cricket. One example to prove that racism exist in cricket is that 6 Indian players were charged during thier tour to South Africa cuz of access appeal, which was not neccesary cuz of course players would appeal. In West Indies when Aus toured, McGrath and Hayden tired to break Lara's concentration by sharing comments with him when he was lookin good, but then they weren't charged which was neccesary.

Name:Girish Mallaya

Comment:Yes racism does exist in cricket. Take the recent outburst of Glen Mcgrath in the Caribbean. A classic case of double standards. Time to boot it out!

Name:Joice

Comment:Yes definitely, racism still exist in the game of cricket. Take for example the way New Zealand authorities treated the Indian players at the port of entry when India went to play New Zealand. They used some funny pretext like the dirty shoes that Harbhajan Sing was wearing would spread disease in the country. That is totally wrong. So many tourist visit New Zealand that include all colors from all races. Every shoes will have some kind of dirty thing stuck to it and may or may not spread any disease, but Harbhajan was fined for it. Also the attack on the West Indies players in some night club in Australia.

Name:Sudhakar

Comment:Yes,Very much.And ICC is very partial on the English and the Aussies. We have lot of examples in the recent year in terms of suspensions and fines for the Asian countries. ICC does not care Aussies sledging and do care when the Aussies appeals for a genuine dismissals not given by the umpires. Racism is there and ICC is a part of it. We need to stop this.

Name:Gyani

Comment:Call it sledging or psychological tactics, we as Indians see it in an Indo-Pak match or a better example is the foul-mouthed Australian team. I am a great fan of the aussies, they have the calibre and the zeal to be called emperors of cricket. but what disgusts me is when they start frowning on a good batsmen or bowler in the opposite team. The zimbabwean stunt pulled by both English and Kiwi teams during the worldcup has mixed and displayed the influence of politics too. a new coat of black paint (always marked when the Indian Cricket team refused to play in Sharjah or Pakistan.) on Cricket History. If they wanted There was a better way to express their protest, the pitch was different not the cricket ground. Yes,Racism does exist in Cricket and infact in every aspect of sport. But the real fun is overwhelming and this issue is minute, except if you want to run few more series on it and kick more dirt on everyone.

Name:Amit Shindore

Comment:Racism. I word that has led to separations in the past. Countries have been divided due to this word and now this dreadful word is shadowing cricket. As far as racism in cricket goes, it is existing since the time cricket started. It has just become more prominent these days. All thanks to the media and television. From the recent happenings in the last 5 years, around the world It has been made obvious by the administrators have one set of rules for "A" class of countries while there is a different set of rules for "B" class of countries. The most visible and living example is the "Mike Denness issue in South Africa". The "non-Asian" category of countries have had clean chits in all the incidents involving atrocious behavior. Michael Slater's outburst when Australia toured India. A lot of thought needs to be put by the administration (probably the ICC) to bring about racial correction. The 22 yard belt is no place to settle racial issues. Corrective actions such as fines is not answer to a racial slur made by a player. With commerce being an integral part of cricket these days, players individually earn more than the Board of that country actually does. The best bet would be match bans, reduction of runs, handing over matches to opponents. A players' action must directly affect the team; only then will players realize that their actions count.

Name:Abhijit Pantoji

Comment:Yes. Certainly racism exist in cricket. And it's mostly encouraged by refrees, administrators and umpires. Who'll forget Shaun Pollock and Virender Sehwag case in 2001. It was umpire who did the discrimination. Even in MCC, racism exists. Sunil Gavaskar refused the membership of MCC in 1988, solely becuase of racism. Many times, we see the discrimination being done in penaltis and disciplinary actions, Australians, English and whites are ignored of misbehaviors. Asians and to some extent West Indians are always penalised out of proportion.

Name:Akshay

Comment:Yes, it does !! No doubt about it. More than expressing derogatory remarks about another race, it manifests itself in the form of double standards. Umpteen examples can be given to clarify my point. 1. Darren Lehman should have got a much more severe punishment than he deserved. 2. The Mike Deness incident in which he booked 6 Indians for excessive appealing. 3. England and NZ just face cut in match-fees for not playing in Kenya and Zim, but if India refuses to tour Pak for security concerns/political reasons, ICC threatens to isolate them. Actually mentality of the white world is one of the paramount reason why this happens. They still believe themselves to be the superior race and feel that they can go scott-free. For e.g Michael Slater should have been banned for atleast couple of matches when he toured India last in 2001. But even Indian umpire Venkat did not have the guts to reprimand him. Basically the so called blacks are still under the slave mentality. Even Gundappa W, who is an ICC match referee failed to bestow enuff punishments on some White guy. So I like to strongly reiterate that racism does exist.

Name:A Bharadwaj

Comment:Yes! Racism certainly rears it's ugly head in cricket. A major problem exists with administrators, rather than the players. Players who make racist remarks are few, whereas officials, like that Scot Denness are outright racists. Punishments for bad behaviour are almost unseen for ill behaved players from Australia, South Africa and NZ. Asian players, particularly Indians are meted harsh penalties even for minor offences like appealing.

Over to you...