Indian cricketer Abhinav Mukund on August 10 became the latest sportsperson to have expressed his views on the issue of racism. Besides Abhinav, many athletes and players from across the globe have condemned it’s alarming rise in the field of sports.
Abhinav Mukund, who is currently in Sri Lanka with Indian Team for 3 Test matches, 5 One Day Internationals and a T20, recently took to his Twitter account to express his views on this issue. Abhinav wrote: “I have been playing cricket since the age of 10 and I have gradually climbed up the ladder to where I am right now. It is an honour to get the chance to represent the country at the highest level. I am writing today not to garner sympathy or attention but…with the hope to change the mindset of people on an issue I feel strongly about.”
He further mentioned: “I have been travelling a lot within and outside our country since I was 15. Ever since I was young, people’s obsession with my skin colour has always been a mystery to me. Any one who follows cricket would understand the obvious. I have played and trained day in and day out in the sun and not once have I regretted the fact that I have tanned or lost a couple of shades. It is simply because I love what I do and I have been able to achieve certain things only because I have spent hours outdoor. I come from Chennai probably one of the hottest places in our country and I have gladly spent most of my adult life in the cricket ground.”
— Abhinav mukund (@mukundabhinav) August 9, 2017
Recalling that he also faced a similar issue, he wrote: “I have laughed and shrugged it off because I had bigger goals! Affected young, I toughened up because this was never something that would pull me down. There were many times when I chose not to dignify these insults with responses.”
sir SOUTH k saare aise hi kaale kalutee hote hn …not ur mistake…_____
— Sunil ! (@kirkitcrazy) August 10, 2017
“With the rise of social media, it has gone to a magnitude that I see people hurling abuses left, right and centre at something I have absolutely no control over. Fair isn’t the only lovely or handsome guys,” Mukund added.
In other series of tweets, Mukund went on to add: “Guys please don’t turn this into something else, it has absolutely no connection to anyone in the team. It is mainly targeted at people who have been posting abuses about colour and saying absolutely derogatory things about the tone of my skin. That s all ! Please don’t turn this into something political, I just wanted to make a positive statement hoping to make a change. That s all.”
Soon after Mukund’s post many of his fellow mates came out in his support. Ashwin reposted Mukund’s tweet with a message which read: “Read and learn, don’t make it a headline cos its someone’s emotion.”
Read and learn, don’t make it a headline cos its someone’s emotion. https://t.co/AnN9EMofj2
— Ashwin Ravichandran (@ashwinravi99) August 10, 2017
Meanwhile, Team India is set to take on Lanka in the third and the final Test match, starting in Pallekele on August 12. Team India is leading the series 2-0.
