Former India all rounder Yuvraj Singh has said he was misunderstood during an Instagram live conversation with Rohit Sharma where he made a passing remark that has been alleged to be casteist.
During a live chat with his former India and Mumbai Indians teammate Sharma in April, Singh made a statement when India spinner Kuldeep Yadav came online that, “Yeh b****i log ko kaam nahi hai yeh Yuzi aur isko (Kuldeep). Yuzi ko dekha kya video daala hai apni family ke saath.” (These b****i people do not have any work to do. Did you see the video Yuzi put with his family?)
The remarks landed Singh in trouble as reports emerged on Thursday that a First Information Report was filed against the now-retired allrounder. A lawyer from Haryana, Rajat Kalsan, had lodged a complaint with local police alleging that Singh’s remarks were casteist against Dalits, reported the Indian Express.
“We are investigating the matter. But nothing has been decided so far. No FIR has been registered yet,” Hansi Superintendent of Police Lokender Singh told the newspaper. Kalsan said that the comment was hurtful to the sentiments of Dalits and also stressed on the fact that millions of people would have watched this video on social media.
On Friday, from his Twitter account, Singh expressed regret if his remarks unintentionally hurt anybody’s sentiments.
Here’s the full text of Yuvraj’s statement issued on Twitter:
This is to clarify that I have never believed in any kind of disparity, be it on the basis of caste, colour, creed or gender. I have given, and continue to spend my life for the welfare of people. I believe in the dignity of life and respect each individual without exception.
I understand that while I was having a conversation with my friends, I was misunderstood, which was unwarranted. However, as a responsible Indian I want to say that if I have unintentionally hurt anybody’s sentiments or feelings, I would like to express regret for the same.
My love for India and all its people is eternal.
Here’s the video of Rohit Sharma’s interaction with Yuvraj Singh, where the latter utters the statement about Chahal and Kuldeep around the 6-minute mark: