SYDNEY, Jan 10: Australia coach Justin Langer on Sunday called it a shame and one of his greatest “pet hates” after some spectators directed racial abuse at Indian players during the third Test and were expelled from the Sydney Cricket Ground for their behaviour.
While the cricket community exploded after Indian players were subjected to racial abuse during the fourth day of the third Test at the SCG, Australian skipper Tim Paine won hearts by joining the visiting team’s huddle.
Play was halted for a few minutes after India pacer Mohammed Siraj complained of racial abuse from a section of the crowd, leading to expulsion of some spectators and an unreserved apology from Cricket Australia.
Langer called Paine a “class act”. “It was nice to have Tim out there when that incident happened today. He’s a class act as we know. The game of Test cricket is always going to be played tough but there’s been a really good feeling amongst both teams and let’s hope that continues,” Langer said.
Paine was batting at the time.
For Virat Kohli, it is “absolute peak of rowdy behaviour” that few Australian fans hurled racial slur at Siraj during the third Test as the India captain demanded stern action against the offenders.
“Racial abuse is absolutely unacceptable. Having gone through many incidents of really pathetic things said on the boundary lines, this is the absolute peak of rowdy behaviour. It’s sad to see this happen on the field,” Kohli, who is on a paternity break, tweeted.
Seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Sunday said racist abuse from the crowd at the SCG is not new and needs to be dealt with an iron fist after some spectators were asked to leave for targeting Indian players during the ongoing third Test against Australia here.
Speaking at the end of the fourth day’s play, Ashwin said the Indian players have faced racism in Sydney earlier too and “disappointment” will be a “mild word” to describe how they are feeling after Siraj was subjected to racial slurs on two consecutive days.
Former Indian Test star VVS Laxman also condemned the racial slur directed towards Siraj.
Laxman tweeted, “Very unfortunate to see what’s happening at SCG. There is no place for this rubbish. Never understood the need to yell abuse at players on a sporting field. If you’re not here to watch the game and can’t be respectful, then please don’t come and spoil the atmosphere.”
Australian cricket greats Shane Warne and Mike Hussey have also come down hard on crowd racism, with the latter calling for life bans after allegations that Siraj and Bumrah were abused by attendants at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Warne added the allegations were particularly worrying given the events of the past 12 months, which have seen a global push for racial equality. (Agencies)
