RACIAL ABUSE: SPECTATORS CALL SIRAJ, SUNDAR ‘BLOODY GRUB’

SYDNEY: Some spectators at the Gabba on Friday called India bowlers Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar “bloody grub” on the first day of the fourth Test against Australia, less than a week after racist abuse allegations directed at the bowler during the third Test in Sydney.

A report in Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) on Friday quoted a spectator as saying that speedster Siraj was repeatedly abused by vocal spectators in Section 215 and 216 of the stadium when he was fielding there. A video posted on twitter by the SMH reporter also shows spectators shouting out Siraj’s name before calling out “you bloody grub”.

The report said: “At one point, a man in that section was heard yelling, ‘Siraj, give us a wave, give us a wave, give us a wave. Siraj, you bloody grub’.”

Siraj can be seen turning around and waving towards the stand at which point the spectators let out a cheer.‘Grub’, an Australian slang, is used for a person who is unclean or who has messy habits.

According to the spectator quoted in the newspaper report, debutant off-spinner Sundar was also subjected to the same chat from the unruly section. This is not the first instance of Indian players being targetted by spectators. During the drawn third Test in Sydney, Siraj and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah had complained of facing racial abuse.