Border Gavaskar trophy 2021 winning captain Ajinkya Rahane finally reveals his views on the racial abuse over Indian players. Indian bowlers Siraj and Bumrah were racially abused by Australian fans during day 3 and 4 of the third Test.
Rahane on Racial Abuse over Indian players
Rahane, while speaking to Sports Today, revealed why he turned down the on-field umpires’ offer to leave the field midway after Mohammed Siraj was subjected to racial abuse by the crowd in Sydney.
“What happened in Sydney was really sad. With Siraj and a couple of others. We had to take a stand. Yes, I said that we are not going out of the field, we are here to play cricket,” Ajinkya Rahane told Boria Majumdar in an exclusive interview with Sports Today.
“At the same time, we respect our players so if you can actually take those guys out who used bad language. We are here and we can start the game. We didn’t want to lose that momentum. At the same time, we respect our players and I am always there for my players,” Rahane added.
Following the repeated misbehavior by the SCG crowd on Day 3 and Day 4, Cricket Australia had issued a strong statement against discrimination and hold that there’s no place in cricket for racism.
Siraj was the main target of the spectators in the racism incident, who later went onto being India’s leading wicket-taker in the series (13 scalps). It was his debut series and he exceeded expectations with his temperament and overall skills.
Even the likes of Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill, T Natarajan, Shardul Thakur made a mark in India’s memorable fightback and series triumph.
Rahane-led India won the second Test at the MCG, Melbourne, showed grit, determination, and incredible resilience to earn an inspiring draw in the third Test, at the SCG. Defeated Australia at their fortress, Gabba, Brisbane, to claim the series 2-1.
