Nathan Lyon hit out at such racist incidents, speaking to reporters on Wednesday after Mohammed Siraj was subjected to racial slurs in the Sydney Test which led to the play being stopped on Day 4 for 10 minutes.
The Sydney Test between India and Australia went down in history for its fabulous 5th-day action where India managed a draw despite injury concerns but during the course of the five days, it also made news for many wrong reasons too.
Nathan Lyon: No Room For Any Racial Abuse And It’s Quite Disgusting
Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj had alleged being targeted by racial slurs which he decided to report to the officials immediately. Reactions from all corners of the cricketing fraternity have since poured in and now, Australia spinner Nathan Lyon has termed the entire episode ‘disgusting’. Earlier he and pacer Jasprit Bumrah were abused by the unruly crowd on 3rd day as BCCI officially complained about the incident to ICC.
On Day 4 of the Sydney Test, the play had to be suspended for 10 minutes after Mohammed Siraj reported the incident to the on-field umpires.
“There’s no room for any racial (sledges) or any abuse in any type,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “People think they are being funny, but it can effect people in different ways. For me, cricket is the sport for all and there is no room for it at all.”
Nathan Lyon admitted that he himself has been subjected to abuse on the field all over the globe. While some block out and ignore such abuse, others report it. As for Mohammed Siraj, who decided to take up the matter immediately, the security personnel officiating removed the fans from the stadium right then.
“I think it’s quite disgusting to be honest. Yes, I’ve been on the other end of it copping abuse, whether that’s England, New Zealand, South Africa or wherever it may be. But there’s no room for it. As a player you’ve got to try your best to block it out.”
“But if the time is right to call in match officials (you do it). We’ve got a lot of security around the ground these days and if there are anyone doing it then they can be removed, as there’s absolutely no place for it.”
Virat Kohli said racial abuse is absolutely unacceptable while Sachin Tendulkar said those who indulge in racism have no place in the sporting arena. ICC has strongly condemned reported incidents of racism and have offered Cricket Australia all necessary support in investigating the incidents.
Nathan Lyon: It’s Up To The Player Concerned To Report Racial Abuse To Officials
The Aussie off-spinner further stressed that there remains no place for such abuse in the sport. For people coming to the stadium, the only objective should be to enjoy the game and nothing else.
“It well may do (set a precedence to report issues to officials),” he said. “It will be up to that player and how they have been effected. I just really hope in a whole world society we can get over it and people can come to watch us play cricket, with players not going to work and not be worried about being abused. Cricket is a sport for all and it comes down to players and how they’ve been affected.”
Ravichandran Ashwin, off-spinner of India said racist abuse from the crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground is not new and needs to be dealt with an iron fist.
Harbhajan Singh, Indian spinner on Sunday said that the Australian crowd is in the habit of getting involved in unsavory incidents like hurling abuses at the visiting teams. Pragyan Ojha, former Indian spinner reckons that BCCI should, seriously, take up the matter of Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah, getting racially abused, with Cricket Australia (CA).
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