Darren Sammy said that he’s made peace with India pacer Ishant Sharma using a racial slur to address the two-time T20 World Cup-winning West Indies captain in a post on Instagram.
Sharma and Sammy were teammates in the Indian Premier League’s Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise from 2013 to ‘15. The 31-year-old had shared a group picture on Instagram in 2014, featuring Sammy, calling the West Indian k***u.
Sharma’s post cropped up following the outrage surrounding the death of African American George Floyd last month. He had also urged the International Cricket Council to speak up on the issue. Sammy also stated that he had experienced racism during his SRH stint. Sammy’s former teammate Chris Gayle to had alleged that he has been a victim of racism during his two decade-old career.
“We need a lot of education on how cultures view and respect racism or colourism,” Sammy was quoted as saying by Outlook.
“Ishant calling me something [K**u] may have been done innocently but any word that degrades must be shunned. I have had a conversation with him and I have moved forward in life.”
The reported quoted Sammy saying that Sharma was “still his brother” and will “like to hug him” when they meet again.
Weighing in on Sharma’s controversial post, he said: “In his home, Ishant has a big poster of us joining hands and I had signed on it saying ‘Brothers For Life.’ I don’t want to dwell on that issue because there are bigger problems that need attention. Let’s look forward,” said Sammy.
“I will love to be back in India in some capacity, may be coach, mentor or a player. I have lovely memories of India,” he added.
Elaborating on racism, Sammy slammed fairness creams in country. “Your ad, Fair & Lovely clearly says lovely people are the fairer people. That’s what it stands for – it hints at colourism.” Days ago, consumer goods company Unilever dropped the word ‘fair’ from its product.