(REUTERS): Indian players were allegedly subjected to racial abuse from a section of the crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in the third test against Australia on Saturday, according to the country’s media.
A source told an Indian news agency, “BCCI lodged a formal complaint with ICC match referee David Boon about two of their players Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj being abused by a drunk spectator while fielding near the boundary rope.”
India skipper Ajinkya Rahane reported the incident to the on-field umpires at stumps after a long discussion with the senior players of the visiting contingent. The two boards and the International Cricket Council (ICC) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
However, batsman Cheteshwar Pujara did not answer when asked about the matter at the end-of-day news conference. Meanwhile, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla told Indian news agency, “We’ve come to know about the issue.”
“Cricket is a gentleman’s game and these kinds of things are not allowed or accepted,” he added. According to the ICC anti-discrimination policy, the host board would have to probe any incident relating to ‘inappropriate conduct’ and submit a report to the world governing body within two weeks.
A man was banned from attending cricket matches in New Zealand for two years after being found guilty of abusing England fast bowler Jofra Archer during a 2019 tour.
