The third test match between India and Australia took an unfortunate turn of events when a certain portion of the crowd started racially abusing the Indian players from the stands, not once but on several occasions. It has been brought to the notice of ICC and they shall take whatever decision they deem necessary.
The incident started during the final moments of the third day. Some fans started hurling cuss words at Indian bowlers Md Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah. They also racially abused them. After the end of the day, Md Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Ajinkya Rahane, and Ravichandran Ashwin were seen complaining about the incident to the match officials.
The match officials reported the incident to ICC. Situations got out of hand on the day four though. The fans repeated the same thing and this time, Md Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah complained to the on-field umpire during the live match. The match officials were quick to respond and the 6men involved in the deed were ousted from the stadium immediately.
When police were called in to take action, the crowd protested that they were just using friendly banters and not racially discriminating in any way.
Siraj was referred to as ‘Brown Dog’ and ‘Big Monkey’
However, a proper investigation was carried in which proved otherwise. A BCCI official said that the Indians were being called ‘Brown Dog’ and ‘Big Monkey’. The source told Sportskeeda-
“Siraj was referred to as ‘Brown Dog’ and ‘Big Monkey’ both of which are racist slurs. The Indian team immediately brought the matter to the notice of the on-field umpires. They were constantly abusing Bumrah too which is again unacceptable. Actually, the players did nOt want to lose focus during the live proceedings. So they decided to report the matter only after the day’s play had finished. the umpires have already instructed us to immediately inform them if anything of that nature happens.”
The Indian players had indeed tolerated enough. After keeping their composure for the entire third day, it was only in the 86th over the fourth day that Md Siraj felt extremely offended and he had no other choice but to complain.
Netizens react to the incident:
Cricket fans from all over the world broke out on Twitter over the incident. Everyone is criticizing the Australian board for not taking any action on the third day itself. Moreover, the look of sadness on Md Siraj’s face after the incident broke everyone’s heart.
The Indian pacer had shown great character in the practice match against Australia A when he preferred to run to the injured bowler rather than completing the run. Many fans have brought up this incident too.
Indian captain Virat Kohli also took to Twitter to bash racial discrimination. He said, “Racial abuse is absolutely unacceptable for anyone. Having gone through many incidents of really pathetic things said on the boundary lines for quite some time. This is the absolute peak of rowdy behaviour. It is sad to see this happen on the field. The incident really needs to be looked at with absolute urgency and strict action against the offenders should set things straight for once.”
The six spectators whom the police evicted are in their custody as of now. Further actions will be taken after consulting with Cricket Australia and ICC. Match referee David Boon openly conveyed his regret for the heinousness of the situation. Cricket Australia has apologized to the Indian team and has promised them that legal actions will be taken against the offenders.
