'I was called a Paki' - Aakash Chopra recalls the racism he faced while playing league cricket in England

Ever since the African-American George Floyd has become the victim of racism in the USA, the cricketers have also started revealing their stories about the same. Earlier it was former West Indies captain Darren Sammy who claimed that he was called ‘Kalu’ by his Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) teammates when he played for the franchise a few years ago. And now, Aakash Chopra has recalled his encounter with racism while playing cricket in England.

He has claimed that two South Africa cricketers from the opposition were constantly calling him ‘Paki’ and also abused him while batting. Chopra also stated that the opposition players were having a go at him even when he wasn’t batting and also pointed out almost every cricketer has faced the racism at some point in his career.

“We (cricketers) at one point or the other, have been victims of racism. I remember when I used to play league cricket in England, there were two South African is one of the opposition teams and both of them really went on an abusive spree. Even when I was at the non-striker’s end, they were after my life. They were constantly calling me Paki,” he said on his Youtube channel.

Aakash Chopra explains the meaning of ‘Paki’

Aakash Chopra, in his video, also explained the meaning of ‘Paki’ stating that it isn’t the short form of Pakistan. Paki is referred to address the brown-skinned people. He also added that the term is used to racially abuse the people from the subcontinent. The 42-year-old, however, also went on to inform that his team then had stood by him.

“Now many believe Paki is a short form of Pakistan but that is not true. If you are brown-skinned. If you’re anywhere from Asian subcontinent, this term is used to racially abuse. You’re called Paki, and nobody likes it. The moment you call anybody Paki in England, you know the intention behind it. That’s what happened to me at that time. My team stood by me but the truth is the person in front of me was doing it,” he further said.

Moreover, Aakash Chopra also recalled an incident when Australia cricketer Andrew Symonds was referred to as Monkey while playing at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

“Even if you’re white-skinned, it happens then as well. When they come to this part of the world, they also subjected to this kind of behaviour. In fact, when Andrew Symonds came to India, so many Monkey chants started filling up the Wankhede Stadium. That is when people were told that your entry will be banned,” Chopra added.