Faced racism while playing in IPL: Sammy

West Indian all-rounder Darren Sammy on Tuesday revealed that during his saint with Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad, players used to call him with racist word.

The 36-year-old had initially thought that the word meant ‘strong stallion’ but that was clearly not the case.

Speaking in an Intagram video, the two-time World T20 winning captain said, “I have played all over the world and I have been loved by many people, I have embraced all the dressing rooms where I have played, so I was listening to Hasan Minhaj as to how some of the people in his culture describe black people.”

"I will be messaging those people, you guys know who you are. I must admit at that time when I was being called that, I didn't know what it meant, I thought the word meant strong stallion or whatever it is, and I saw no problems because I was ignorant about what it meant,” he added.

"This does not apply to everybody, so after I found out a meaning of a certain word, I had said I was angry on finding out the meaning and it was degrading, instantly I remembered when I played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013-14, I was being called the exact same word which is degrading to us black people," he added.

The Peshawar Zalmi – Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise — squad member also demanded an apology from all those who used that word.

"I have had great memories in all the dressing rooms I've played in, I have always been one to build a team, not bring it down. So all those who used to call me with that word - you guys know yourself - reach out to me, let's have a conversation. If it was in a bad way then I would be really disappointed, and I'll still be angry and deserve an apology from you guys as I saw all of you guys as my brothers. So talk to me, reach out to me and clear the air," he said.

Earlier, Sammy had also urged ICC to stand up against racism, after violent protests erupted across the United States over the death of a handcuffed black man, George Floyd, in police custody.