Being unfiltered and being insulting are different. And Arshdeep Singh, the Punjab Kings bowler, has been caught offguard passing alleged racial comments to his Indian counterpart Tilak Varma before the Mumbai Indians vs. Punjab Kings match on May 14. Arshdeep is known for his Snapchat videos, and in one such clip, the pacer was seen addressing Tilak as "Andhere," which means "dark" in English.
Tilak was seen with Naman Dhir, who was called "Noor," meaning "light." Arshdeep maintained his so-called humor, repeatedly asking Tilak to put on sunscreen. The Mumbai batter did not escalate anything. He answered with poise that he has applied sunscreen, but that is not the point.
Fans went gaga on social media. While many casually pointed out the unfiltered Punjabi banter, many slammed it, calling it directly racial.
Well, this is not the first time Arshdeep's video attracted controversy. One of the vlog clips caught Yuzvendra Chahal vaping inside the flight. It made Punjab Kings take strict regulations of posting videos from the franchise's official social media handle.
Read also: Watch: Axar Patel and DC stars hilariously tease frustrated Arshdeep after PBKS defeat
The famous "Kalu" remark that triggered IPL
The Sunrisers Hyderabad entered the controversy when the West Indian great Darren Sammy, in 2020, revealed how he and the Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera became victims of racial slurs. It happened in 2013 and 2014 when the SRH teammates repeatedly called them "Kalu."
In June 2020, amid the global Black Lives Matter movement, Sammy watched an episode of the American comedy show Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. During the episode, Minhaj explained how the word "Kalu" or "Kala" is used across the Indian subcontinent as a degrading colorist and racial slur toward dark-skinned individuals.
Because the nickname was always accompanied by dressing-room laughter, he was led to believe the term was a compliment meaning "strong stallion" or something "uplifting."
Last year, the English fast bowler Jofra Archer faced similar remarks. While doing commentary, former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh compared the speed of Archer's run-conceding meter to London's "Kali taxis" (black cabs).
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