Darren Sammy hints at ICC being 'racist' over bouncer rules for curbing WI's dominance

West Indies cricketer Darren Sammy has constantly been in news in recent times for calling out racism in cricket. The all-rounder, who has continued to raise his voice against racism in cricket, has made another sensational claim. Darren Sammy said that the bouncer rule was introduced in order to check the rise of a 'black' team. The two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain made the claim while he was expressing his emotions over the killing of African-American man George Floyd in the US at the hands of a police officer.

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Darren Sammy alleges ICC of stopping West Indies' progress

Last month, George Floyd, an African-American man, died after being arrested by police outside a shop in Minneapolis. The incident took place on May 25 and its video spread like wildfire on social media. In the video, a white police officer can be seen pressing his knee into Floyd's neck for several minutes, until he breathed his last. The George Floyd death resulted in a massive 'Black Lives Matter' movement all over the world.

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With protests going all around the world, Darren Sammy used the opportunity to point out racism in cricket. Daren Sammy said that the unfortunate incident affected him in many ways and also forced him to think of how racism was also common in cricket. While speaking to Inside Out, Darren Sammy said that the kneeling on George Floyd's neck brought so many scenarios to him. He added that he views it as people in power suppressing the ones who are less fortunate.

Darren Sammy then went on to speak about how racism was prevalent in cricket. The West Indies all-rounder reckoned that the movie Fire in Babylon (a British documentary film about the mighty West Indies team of the 1970s and 1980s) shows how attempts were made to suppress a rising black team.

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Darren Sammy suggested that former Australian fast bowling duo of Jeffrey Robert Thomson and Dennis Lillee was renowned for hurting batsmen with their bowling but when the West Indies bowlers were bowling bouncers and becoming dominant, rules were introduced in the game to stop their progress. He said that he might be wrong but that’s how he sees it. And the system should not allow that.

In the 70s, 80s and 90s, West Indies' fast bowlers such as Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Andy Roberts, Joel Garner, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose were renowned for their express pace and trouble many batsmen around the world, which saw them dominate world cricket till the mid-90s.

Recently, a Sammy tweet had alleged that in the mid-2010s in the IPL, he was subjected to racial discrimination alongside Sri Lanka's Thisara Perera when they were playing for SRH with the term kalu used for them. It resulted in the now India and Delhi Capitals pacer Ishant Sharma receiving severe backlash on social media.

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IMAGE COURTESY: DARRENSAMMY88 INSTAGRAM