Legendary leg player Shane Warne finds himself in trouble after making a reference to one of Cheteshwar Pujara’s nicknames, ‘Steve’, coined by his former Yorkshire teammates during Day 1 of the ongoing Pink Ball Test at Adelaide.
Warne made the casual reference when he was on the air for Fox Cricket along with his fellow commentators, saying that Pujara was called ‘Steve’ by his fellow Yorkshiremen during India’s county hitting season, as his first name Cheteshwar was difficult. to pronounce.
Warne shared a laugh with his teammates after making the reference but it hasn’t gone down well with sports fans.
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Pujara himself revealed in the past that he was called ‘Steve’, but the nickname made the news on December 5, when Yorkshire launched an investigation into accusations of institutional racism at the English county club. In particular, Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq had brought a case against Yorkshire, claiming that he was discriminated against on the basis of race at the club.
While providing evidence to back up Rafiq’s claims, a former Yorkshire employee, Taj Butt, had alleged that Yorkshire players called “all colored players” Steve. In particular, Butt resigned from his job as a Community Development Officer at the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation within 6 weeks of joining.
“There were continuous references to taxi drivers and restaurant workers when referring to the Asian community,” Butt said, quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
“They called all people of color ‘Steve.’ Even Cheteshwar Pujara, who joined as a professional overseas, was called Steve because they couldn’t pronounce his name.”
Reactions to Shane Warne’s reference
It appears fox sports aus is unaware that pujura’s nickname was raised in the recent Yorkshire race investigation. @ MarkHoward03 @ShaneWarne @ juniorwaugh349 .. I will stay still for the apologies of @FoxCricket @FOXSportsAUS Pujara has said that he offended and hurt him at the time.
– alastair turner (@ thedockers2011) December 17, 2020
Referring to Pujara as ‘Steve’ is:
a) unprofessional
b) disrespectful
c) racistLearn to say his name
– Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) December 17, 2020
Watching cricket and Warne & Keefe are the worst to air on Fox Cricket. Partisan hacker to the core and casual racism to top it all off with the Pujara bit and “Steve.” Learn to say the name or don’t go on the air @ShaneWarne @ kokeeffe49
– Sunil (@samshaptaka) December 17, 2020
Watching cricket and Warne & Keefe are the worst to air on Fox Cricket. Partisan hacker to the core and casual racism to top it all off with the Pujara bit and “Steve.” Learn to say the name or don’t go on the air @ShaneWarne @ kokeeffe49
– Sunil (@samshaptaka) December 17, 2020
He goes on to show how important it is to read at least about the sport that makes you bread and butter. @ 7Cricket commentators @ShaneWarne and others laugh at Pujara’s nickname ‘Steve’ and I am optimistic they are naive about the racist context of that name. https://t.co/yyWbFrqpJI
– Mayank (@ kmayank9) December 17, 2020
Hears @ShaneWarne, the story behind the nickname “Steve” for Pujara.
“They called all people of color ‘Steve.’ [India batsman] Cheteshwar Pujara, who joined as a professional abroad, was called Steve because they couldn’t pronounce his name. “This is as of December 2020.– Prashant Kondi (@PrasKon) December 17, 2020
@ShaneWarne friend, you must apologize to Pujara, laughing at Steve like a nickname is racist just because you can’t say his name. Ffs does it better.
– Krizztorpha (@krizztorpha) December 17, 2020
Former West Indies cricketer Tino Best and Pakistani cricketer Rana Naveed-ul-Haq, who had played for Yorkshire, also backed up Rafiq’s claims during investigations into institutional racism, according to PTI.
Following the Rafiq disclosures, Yorkshire announced that it will take steps to address discrimination and promote inclusion at the club, including the appointment of a head of equality.
Rafiq welcomed the measures initiated by both Yorkshire and the England and Wales Cricket Board and called for “an urgent meeting” with the ECB to discuss “how we can instill cultural and racial acceptance in all age groups”.
