Mohammed Siraj has told Cricket Australia Unit of being at the receiving end of racial slurs in the Sydney Test although the Sydney Morning Herald reported no such usage of words from the crowd. The publication reported that there was no indication of Siraj being racially abused by the crowd.
During fielding near the boundary in front of the Brewongle and Clive Churchill Stands, few Indian players, including Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah, were subject to abuse and later India reported the racial slur on Saturday. Once again, during the fourth afternoon of the match on Sunday, the Indian team asked CA’s investigation to be delayed until after the game but Siraj found himself at the end once again, which he bravely reported to the umpire.
The security personnel immediately took the ‘culprits’ out of the stadium, with the Indian media later reporting the exact words directed at the rookie Indian pacer. CA probed the details and Siraj reportedly revealed that he, in fact, heard those derogatory words from the crowd.
Meanwhile, the Sydney Morning Herald talked to a few of the members sitting close by and later reported that there was no indication that they had racially abused Siraj. While the security guard’s reports stated that members of the crowd having called Siraj “Shiraz” – which former Australian Race Discrimination Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane said on Monday could be categorized as racist – but they didn’t report the words revealed by Siraj.
