Racism has always been an issue in sport. Calling names and making animalistic sounds on fields have been a regular occurrence on various sports. The English Premier League had undertaken various measures to tackle it, including asking the players to take their knees before every game. However, racism of every kind is a menace, even if it stems from belonging to a particular state. Former Indian pacer S Sreesanth has recently revealed that he has been called ‘Madrasi’ all his life.
It should be noted that the term “Madrasi” is a regional slur referring to people who are native to or live in Southern India, primarily Tamil Nadu. During an ODI match in Nagpur against Sri Lanka in October 2005, Sreesanth made his debut for India. The pacer represented India in all three formats, amassing 169 wickets.
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“All my life I have been…. I can say it. See anything below Bombay was more like Madrasi. I have been hearing it from the time I was playing Under-13 to Under-14 to Under-16 to Under-19. Then we had the Kochi (Tuskers Kerala) team and it was like playing for the country again,” said Sreesanth on ‘The Ranveer Show’.
On the same show, Sreesanth revealed that a lot of players have payments due from now-defunct IPL team Kochi Tuskers.