Laxman Sivaramakrishnan shuts down troll over racist remark

Former Indian cricketer Laxman Sivaramakrishnan was recently subjected to racist remarks on social media. However, the ex-spin bowler handled the situation with grace and firmness, delivering a powerful response that shut down the troll.

Sivaramakrishnan shared a picture from a temple festival in Mahalingapuram, Tamil Nadu on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). The image featured an elephant alongside the former cricketer. Shockingly, one user left a racist comment, stating, "Hii sir that elephant is more visible in night than you."

Rather than ignoring the racist remark, Sivaramakrishnan chose to confront it head-on. He replied, "Yes I am dark." He then firmly condemned the user's cheap behaviour, adding, "It's a temple festival and you people are so cheap" and "Thumuru baap angreerez Hoga" (implying the troll's ancestors were British colonizers).

The powerful response garnered widespread support from cricket fans, who lauded Sivaramakrishnan for taking a stand against racism. His straightforward acknowledgement of his skin tone and self-respect served as an inspiring example of how to handle such situations with dignity.

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Laxman Sivaramakrishnan made his debut for India in 1983 against West Indies

Before this recent episode, Sivaramakrishnan had also voiced his disappointment with the treatment he received from fellow cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin. Expressing his disappointment on social media, Sivaramakrishnan revealed that Ashwin ignored his attempts to congratulate him on his 100th Test milestone, highlighting the lack of respect shown towards former players.

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Sivaramakrishnan's international cricket career spanned nine Tests and 16 ODIs, in which he took 26 and 15 wickets respectively. His best bowling figures in Tests were 6/64, while in ODIs they were 3/35.