Cricket does not need racism

When outgoing ICC president Malcolm Gray gave his exit interviews, he surprised many people.

"Right from the player level to the decision-making level, racism exists," he told rediff.com

He added he was deeply concerned at the state of affairs in the game.

A few questions came to mind immediately.

Why did he wait for his term to end before talking about racism in the game?

Why did he not do anything while he was in office?

Racism exists in cricket. Period.

It is one of those unspoken evils; known to all but acknowledged by none.

What hurts most is the fact that even though those in the higher echelons know it is wrong, they do nothing about it.

Gray actually said racism exists in cricket. In normal circumstances, that would have led to a great uproar, but what happened this time round?

Nothing.

There are many instances of racism in the game.

England Captain Tony Greig found himself in an awkward situation in 1976 after he made his infamous prediction that England would make the West Indies 'grovel.'

Viv Richards and the rest of the West Indian team took offence and registered what is now called a 'Blackwash' in the series.

In recent times, Roshan Mahanama said Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath called Sanath Jayasuriya a 'Black Monkey.'

The famous 'Mike Denness' incident is not forgotten either. After six Indian players were banned for excessive appealing, Shaun Pollock's unrestrained appeals during that Test immediately sprung to mind.

But what happened to all those named above?

Nothing, again.

It has happened time and again in cricket.

But the most recent incident is even more shocking. Australian all-rounder Darren Lehmann referred to the Sri Lankan cricketers as 'black c...' He was handed out a five-match suspension by the International Cricket Council.

Is a five-match suspension all he deserved? If the ICC was really serious about stamping out racism from the game, they would have banned Lehmann for life.

But what did they do?

Nothing.

Lehmann is back playing cricket. He even played the World Cup final. The McGrath and Lehmann incidents occurred during Gray's term as ICC president. He then tells the world, while handing over the ICC reins to Ehsan Mani, that racism exists. But what did he do about it?

Was it not his duty to try and end this scourge?

But he did not. The only way to eradicate racism from cricket is to hand out punishment that the offenders really deserve. For too long this has gone unheeded. It is not only the guilty players but officials too who need to be brought to book.

Cricket does not need racism.