Irfan Pathan, Parthiv Patel brush off ex-IPL teammate Darren Sammy's 'racism claims'

Former West Indies cricket captain Darren Sammy recently made some startling claims by recalling his experiences from the Indian Premier League (IPL) playing days. The burly Saint Lucian all-rounder represented Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) during the 2013 and 2014 seasons of the IPL. In wake of the ongoing ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, Sammy claimed to have been subjected to racism jibes during his time in IPL.

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Black Live Matter movement: Irfan Pathan denies Darren Sammy’s claim

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan was teammates with Darren Sammy in SRH during the 2014 IPL season. While writing for The Telegraph, the Baroda-based all-rounder recently stated that he was with the former West Indies captain at the time and added that he is not aware of any of the derogatory references made towards him. Irfan Pathan mentioned that had this really happened with Sammy, the matter would definitely have been discussed within the team management.

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However, Irfan Pathan did admit that racism exists in Indian domestic cricket. The 2007 T20 World Cup-winning cricketer wrote that there is a need to spread education regarding the same among the people. Irfan Pathan also stated that he has actually seen racial jibes in domestic cricket by citing the examples of Indian cricketers from the southern part of the country. Without naming anyone, Pathan revealed that players from the south have encountered racism while playing in the northern and western parts of the country.

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Irfan Pathan stated that such incidents also usually happen in the crowds. He believes there’s always a jester among packed audiences in the stands who tries to act popular by saying something seemingly funny, which tends to sometimes cross the line. However, Irfan Pathan claimed that it does not necessarily mean those people are racist.

Parthiv Patel backs Irfan Pathan, denies Darren Sammy’s ‘racism in IPL’ claims

Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel also expressed his opinion regarding Darren Sammy’s racism claim in IPL. Patel was teammates with the two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain in the IPL 2013. The seasoned cricketer said he never heard anyone using any derogatory or racist words during his time with the West Indian during that season.

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