Indian ex-pacer Irfan Pathan admits to having seen racism in domestic cricket

NEW DELHI (92 News) – Indian former fast bowler Irfan Pathan has admitted to having seen racism in the domestic cricket, saying he has not seen it happen or being discussed in a larger way. Reacting to Former West Indian skipper Darren Sammy’s statement, he said that Muslim cricketers have to face racism in the beginning of their career. “I was there with him (Sammy) in 2014. I feel had this really happened, the matter would definitely have been discussed. So I am not aware of such things as nothing was discussed in a larger way. But at the same time, we need to educate our people because I’ve seen them (racial jibes) in domestic cricket,” he said. Pathan added that these things are repetitive in the country. He recalled incidents, where the cricketers from down south are subject to racial remarks from their northern and western Indian audience. However, the all-rounder pointed out that people are trying to gain popularity by racially profiling the cricketers in an attempt to be funny. “Some of our cricketers from the south, especially, have faced that in the northern and western parts of the country, though I don’t want to name anyone. What happens is among the crowd, someone tries to act like a jester. It’s not because people are racist, but it’s like someone trying to be popular by saying something seemingly funny that amounts to crossing the line on certain occasions,” he said. Former West Indian skipper, Darren Sammy had confirmed how racism and racial jibes is a prevalent thing even in India, on the biggest T20 stage – Indian Premier League.