MI All-Rounder Hardik Pandya Becomes First Cricketer In IPL 13 To Take Knee In Support of 'BLM' Movement

Hardik Pandya became the first player in the ongoing thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to extend his support to the 'Black Lives Matter' movement by going down on his knee.

Hardik Pandya

Mumbai Indians all-rounder Hardik Pandya not only stole the show with a whirlwind 21-ball 60 knock for MI against Rajasthan Royals but also won the hearts of millions around the world with a heart-warming gesture in the IPL 2020 encounter played at Abu Dhabi on Saturday. It is notable that Hardik Pandya became the first player in the ongoing thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to extend his support to the 'Black Lives Matter' movement by going down on his knee. Pandya who provided the late acceleration to the MI innings with a blistering half ton went down on a knee with his right arm raised after attaining the milestone off the penultimate ball of the innings against Rajasthan Royals. In a noble gesture which stood as a testament of his support and solidarity to the 'Black Lives Movement; Pandya signaled towards the Mumbai Indians dugout to which stand-in skipper Kieron Pollard responded with a raised right fist during the match which Rajasthan won at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. After the match, the all-rounder posted a picture of his gesture on his social media handles with the caption, "Black Lives Matter".

#BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/yzUS1bWh7F

— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) October 25, 2020

World class sportspersons around the globe have been very vocal and stood rock solid  behind the Black Lives Movement lambasting racism over colour since the death of African-American George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police personnel in May earlier this year. Leading Sportsmen From All Quarters Of Global Sporting Fraternity Have Been Extending Support To Black Lives Matter Movement  The first instance of cricketers extending support to 'BLM' movement came to light when cricketers from both England and the West Indies, along with the match officials, took a knee earlier this summer during their three-match Test series. The business end of the 2020 National Basketball Association (NBA) Season which got over with LA Lakers winning their 17th NBA Championship was played in the backdrop of the 'Black Lives Movement' with a lot of African American lineage basketball superstars  wearing black armbands and donned 'BLM' playing jerseys to express their support and unity with the movement that engulfed not only the US but the entire globe. A couple of days back, Delhi Capitals pacer Kagiso Rabada stated that sportspersons should spread the message of racial equality. "It is important for people not to feel inferior. Liberation of mind is the most important thing. I think this is the message you want to spread especially as a sportsman when you do have a platform to express this. Lot of people follow what you do, because that is the nature of sportsman -- there's nothing different if I compare myself with every other person who hasn't played cricket -- but I am on a stage where people can now listen to me," Rabada had told reporters during an interaction.