‘I am always there for my players’: Here’s why Rahane denied umpires’ offer to leave SCG after racial abuse

Rahane has finally opened up on the incident that halted the play on the fourth day for 10 minutes. He condemned that act and revealed why he denied the umpires’ offer to leave the field.

The racial attack was one of the obstacles that Team India came across during a tough tour of Australia. It happened at the Sydney Cricket Ground when two Indian bowlers – Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah – were racially abused by a section of spectators on the second and third day of the third Test match.

Ajinkya Rahane in a conversation with the umpire as the game was halted after allegedly some remarks were made by the spectators on the fourth day of the Sydney Test (Twitter)

The incident forced the tourists to lodge an official complaint with Cricket Australia and ICC. Later, on the penultimate day, six individuals were asked to leave the venue after Siraj informed his captain Ajinkya Rahane about the misbehaving fringe.

Rahane has finally opened up on the incident that halted the play on the fourth day of the Sydney Test for about 10 minutes. In a conversation with Sports Today, Rahane condemned that act and revealed why he denied the umpires’ offer to leave the field.

“What happened in Sydney was really sad. With Siraj and a couple of others. We had to take a stand. Yes, I said that we are not going out of the field, we are here to play cricket,” Rahane told Sports Today.

“At the same time, we respect our players so if you can actually take those guys out who used bad language. We are here and we can start the game. We didn't want to lose that momentum. At the same time, we respect our players and I am always there for my players,” Rahane added.

There were several reports claiming that apart from the Indian players, an Indian-origin fan was also subjected to racial attack by the security staff at the SCG.

After a series of objectionable events, the Australian cricket board issued a strong statement against the discrimination and clarified that there is no place for racism in cricket. The Cricket Australia also went on to thank Indian team management and the BCCI for their co-operation in making this series possible.