In modern era; racial discrimination still prevails in our civilized society. On Wednesday night, Abhinav Mukund became the newest sportsperson to speak out on the issue on racism when he posted a touching tweet about white people not being the only good looking or attractive. The batsman reacted after being badly treated on social media for his color. Abhinav Mukund is the opener on the team India’s current tour at Sri Lanka. So far he has played 1st test match and scored 81 not out in the second innings.
Batting Statistics of Abhinav Mukund
| Mat | Inns | Runs | HS | SR | Avg | 100 | 50 | |
| Tests | 7 | 14 | 320 | 81 | 45.71 | 22.85 | 0 | 2 |
| First-class | 122 | 195 | 8657 | 300* | 51.88 | 48.09 | 26 | 31 |
On 9th Aug 2017, Mukund tweeted an emotional message:
— Abhinav Mukund (@mukundabhinav) August 9, 2017
“I have been travelling a lot within and outside our country since I was 15. Ever since I was young, people’s obsession with my skin colour has always been a mystery to me. Anyone who follows cricket would understand the obvious. I have played and trained day in and day out in the sun and not once have I regretted the fact that I have tanned or lost a couple of shades. It is simply because I love what I do and I have been able to achieve certain things only because I have spent hours outdoor. I come from Chennai, probably one of the hottest places in our country and I have gladly spent most of my adult life in the cricket ground.”
Further he added that he had been subject to a lot of name calling and he said he use to laugh and shrugged it off because he had bigger goals! Affected young, I toughened up because this was never something that would pull me down. “There were many times when I chose not to dignify these insults with responses.”
The left-hander said that today I am speaking up not just for me but for many others who were subjected to racism, while pointing out that the advent of social media has seen an increase in racism. “With the rise of social media, it has gone to a magnitude that I see people hurling abuses left, right and center at something I have absolutely no control over. Fair isn’t the only lovely or handsome guys.”
“Stay true, stay focused, be comfortable in your own skin”, he concluded.
Later in the series of tweets he said:
“Guys please don’t turn this into something else; it has absolutely no connection to anyone in the team. It is mainly targeted at people.”
“I hope this can result in a change in our mindsets!”
In last he tweeted:
Please don't turn this into something political,I just wanted to make a positive statement hoping to make a change. That s all.
— Abhinav Mukund (@mukundabhinav) August 10, 2017
