Siraj bears brunt of racist attack in Sydney Test again
The ongoing third Test between India and Australia plunged into controversy after yet another incident of racist abuse rocked the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.
It was pacer Mohammed Siraj who, once again, faced racist slurs from the crowd even as Cricket Australia (CA) and the New South Wales Police are investigating the first incident reported on Saturday. The game was halted briefly and a bunch of spectators was expelled from the stadium. It’s learnt that Siraj was called a “Brown Dog” and “Big Monkey”. The International Cricket Council has strongly condemned the incident and sought an action report from CA.
Apologising to the India team, Cricket Australia promised to take the “strongest measures” against anyone found guilty of vilification.
“It is most regrettable that an otherwise excellent Test match contested in tremendous spirit by two friendly rivals was tarnished by the actions of a small number of spectators,” Head of Integrity and Security Sean Carroll said.
The behaviour of the crowd has received widespread condemnation from cricketers. Virat Kohli who was once fined for showing the middle finger at the SCG crowd called it “the absolute peak of rowdy behaviour”.
“Having gone through many incidents of really pathetic things said on the boundary lines, this is the absolute peak of rowdy behaviour. It’s sad to see this happen on the field. The incident needs to be looked at with absolute urgency and seriousness and strict action against the offenders should set things straight for once,” Kohli tweeted.