Daren Sammy confirms no grudges over Ishant Sharma for IPL incident

Former West Indian captain and T20 World Cup winner Daren Sammy has cleared the air over the racial discrimination row in the IPL. Sammy had spoken out against the nickname assigned to him while he was plying his trade for Sunrisers Hyderabad. He had appealed his teammates to reconnect with him and apologise if guilty. In a recent interview, the West Indian all-rounder confirmed that he has no grudges over Ishant Sharma and others.

Sammy had alleged that during his time with Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2014 and 2015, he was often mentioned as ‘Kaalu’ (Black), a racist word. He had misunderstood the meaning of the word at that time. This led to him venting his feeling over on his official Instagram handle. In an interview to PTI, Sammy expressed his latest stance.

“I don’t hold grudges. I have spoken to Ishant Sharma. I consider him a brother like I did back in 2014 and ’15 when playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad. But again if I find out that a possible racial slur is being used to describe me, no matter what time I find out, I will ask questions about it and that’s what I did. I have spoken and voiced my opinion and I am moving on. All these issues started a conversation in the cricket fraternity. I have no regrets talking about that,” Sammy said.

Representing West Indies in 10 years from 2007 to 2017, Sammy led his side to two T20 World Cup triumphs in 2012 and 2016. He is currently leading St Lucia Zouks in the Caribbean Premier League 2020 and is often seen playing around the globe in various T20 tournaments.