On Sunday 15th September 2024, the Bangladesh Cricket team was welcomed with fanfare in Chennai ahead of the bilateral T20 series games with India. With ongoing attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh from Islamist extremists, the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has received criticism from several Hindu organisations and leaders for not cancelling the matches. Hindu spiritual leader Radharamn Das wrote, “The BCCI has shown utter disregard for protesting Hindus worldwide. Just look at how BCCI and ICC welcomed Bangladeshi cricketers to India today, while Hindus are being ethnically cleansed in Bangladesh. Shame on you.”.
In addition to calling for Hindus across the globe to boycott the India vs Bangladesh matches, anger has also been expressed at members of Team India. In 2021 ahead of a T20 match in Dubai, Virat Kohli led the Indian Team to join Pakistani counterparts in taking the knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, a move that was viewed by many commentators as tokenistic. In addition, Indian cricketers have little connection to anti-black racism in the West (the focus of Black Lives Matter), to this date, they have failed to speak out against the persecution of Hindus and other human rights violations neighbouring Pakistan and Bangladesh. The silence of Indian cricketers sharply contrasts with Danish Kaneria, a Pakistani Hindu cricketer who played for Pakistan’s national team. Kaneria has not only spoken of his own experiences of Hinduphobia in Pakistan but recently commented on the ongoing troubles in Bangladesh. Danish’s voice has been viewed as inspirational by many of his fans worldwide, especially considering the backlash he faces in Pakistan for speaking out – challenges Indian Hindu cricketers do not have to face.
Should Hindus in the Diaspora do more to encourage Indian cricketers to speak up for Hindu issues?
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