Debasis Sen, Pallekele: Is Abhinav Mukund the latest in the list of sportsmen subject to racial discrimination. The Indian opener took to twitter on Wednesday to strongly protest against the issue. In the field of sports, racism is nothing new. It has become a social evil that has affected several sportsmen in the past.
In a post on social media, the Indian opener wrote about how he is subject to racial comments. Mukund happens to be the first Indian cricketer to raise his voice against the evil practice ailing the society. It is not sure what transpired the Tamil Nadu opener from speaking on this issue. Whether he is subject to racial discrimination from any of his teammates is not yet known. The Indian manager Sunil Subramanian cannot be reached for any comment on the issue.
The opener spoke about how people targeted his skin colour from his young age. He wrote, “I have been travelling a lot within and outside our country since I was 15. Ever since I was young, people’s obsession with my skin colour has always been a mystery to me. Anyone who follows cricket would understand the obvious. I have played and trained day in and day out in the sun and not once have I regretted the fact that I have tanned or lost a couple of shades. It is simply because I love what I do and I have been able to achieve certain things only because I have spent hours outdoor. I come from Chennai probably one of the hottest places in our country and I have gladly spent most of my adult life in the cricket ground.”
Revealing that he had been subject to a lot of name calling, Mukund further added, “I have laughed and shrugged it off because I had bigger goals! Affected young, I toughened up because this was never something that would pull me down. There were many times when I chose not to dignify these insults with responses.”
Mukund was part of the Indian team for the first test in Galle. He scored a duck in the first innings but followed it up with a brilliant 81 runs in the second to pave the way for a comprehensive 304 runs win over Sri Lanka. KL Rahul replaced him for the second test match in Colombo and it is unlikely he will feature in the third test which starts at Pallekele on Saturday.
Here is the post of Abhinav Mukund on twitter:
Mukund in a series of tweets later clarified that it was not meant for any team member.
