'When I Was Called Black Monkey...': Indian Pacer Opens Up On Racist Abuse He Faced At SCG

Mohammed Siraj said he ignored the racist slurs on Day 1 but on the second day when the verbal harassment didn't stop, he decided to talk about it to captain Ajinkya Rahane.

Ajinkya Rahane was leading the Indian side in absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli, who had returned home after 1st Test.

Source : PTI

Team India's young pacer Mohammed Siraj was subjected to racist slurs during India vs Australia 3rd Test in Sydney, part of India's tour of Australia in 2020/21. Recalling the dark episode, Siraj revealed that he and Jasprit Bumrah were called 'brown monkeys' by some Australian fans who were present in the stadium. Siraj said he ignored the racist slurs on Day 1 but on the second day when the verbal harassment didn't stop, he decided to talk about it to captain Ajinkya Rahane, who complained about the incident to the umpires. Later, the Indian team management also lodged an official complaint to match referee David Boon.

"When I was called a black monkey and things like that in Australia, I ignored them on the first day, thinking the people were drunk. But when it happened on the second day, I decided to go up to the umpires and complain about racism and I conveyed it to Ajju bhai (Ajinkya Rahane) who went to the umpires," Siraj said while speaking on RCB Season 2 Podcast.

In this match, Ajinkya Rahane was leading the Indian side in absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli, who had returned home after 1st Test, for the birth of his child.

"So, the umpires told him you are free to leave the ground till the matter is settled. But Ajju bhai said: 'We respect cricket and why should we leave the ground? But remove those people who are abusive and why should we leave the ground? We then focused on cricket as people would keep saying all these things," Siraj added.

Back then, a second-string team led by Rahane retained the Border-Gavaskar trophy after clinching the Test series 2-1 against Australia. Notably, the Indian team had as many as 10 players injured throughout the series but still they ended up having a memorable tour.