Mumbai: Arshdeep Singh has landed in a soup over a comment on fellow-India teammate Tilak Varma that is being interpreted as racial.
A video of Arshdeep and Tilak recently went viral on social media where the Punjab Kings pacer is seen calling the Mumbai Indians batter, “Oye, andhere idhar aa… sunscreen nahi lagayi? (Hey, darkness come here.. didn’t apply sunscreen?)”
The video, recorded a day before the IPL match between Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians, drew sharp reactions as netizens called out Arshdeep’s language and pointed out the racial connotation attached to his words.
Former India leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan strongly condemned Arshdeep’s remarks and urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take action, even a ban.
“Nobody believed me. Everyone mocked and trolled me. Arshdeep should be banned this season and should be paid on a pro rata basis. The players today should be hit where it hurts the most. I am sure I would be trolled again,” Sivaramakrishnan wrote on X.
He also mentioned how he had been abused in his playing days, four decades ago.
“If BCCI takes action, I will name people who racially abused me if BCCI will take action against them,” added Sivaramakrishnan, who played 9 Tests and 16 ODIs for India between 1983 and 1987.
Tilak, who didn’t seem to take Arshdeep’s comments seriously, guided Mumbai to a thrilling victory, making an unbeaten 75 as the blue shirts chased down a 201-run target with a ball to spare.
After Tilak’s matchwinning performance, Mumbai Indians posted a video of the batter with his awards on Thursday night, in an effort to jokingly respond to Arshdeep’s racial comment.
MI’s clip opens with a dark view before the light is thrown on Tilak. “Andhera tera maine le liya, mera ujla sitaara tere naam kiya (I have taken your darkness and handed my shining star to you),”, the lyrics of a Bollywood song, plays in the background.
Though Arshdeep and Tilak play for different teams in the IPL, they are regular members of India’s T20 International squad.
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