Former Indian cricketer Laxman Sivaramakrishnan has said that he has had to endure repeated experiences of alleged racism and colourism during and after his playing career. Sivaramakrishnan told of several instances of racism that left deep mental scars on him that he still carries to this day.
The former cricketer told The Indian Express that he recalled of a time when he was just 14 when he first experienced discrimination due to his dark skin colour. As a teenager, Sivaramakrishnan had joined the Indian camp at Chepauk as a net bowler and rushed, still in school uniform, to a small room to change. A senior India batter mistook him for ground staff and asked him to clean his shoes.
A shocked Sivaramakrishnan responded by saying, “I just looked at him and said, ‘That's none of my business. You do what you need to do." At the time the young boy never knew the meaning of getting discriminated based on skin colour, he told The Indian Express.
Sivaramakrishnan, who played nine Tests and 16 ODIs and picked 41 wickets across the two formats for India, recently announced his retirement from commentary for BCCI. He took to X to make the announcement.
I am retiring from commentary for BCCI
— Laxman Sivaramakrishnan (@LaxmanSivarama1) March 20, 2026
Unfortunately, the incident that happened with him at the Indian camp in Chepauk was not the only one. The now 60-year-old remembered how his Tamil Nadu teammates used to call him “karupa,” referring to his dark complexion.
When he used to take the field in the cities like Mumbai, Chandigarh, and Jalandhar, the crowds often taunted him with chants of “Kalia, tera kya hoga,” reducing him to the colour of his skin.
Although, Sivaramakrishnan never got to play much for India, he was widely regarded as one of the finest leg spinners of his time.
Sivaramakrishnan told that one of the cruelest incidence of discrimination happened on the day when he turned 17. On the day a senior Indian cricketer mocked the colour of his skin by comparing it to a dark chocolate cake brought for his celebration.
“‘Hey Sunny, you ordered the right colour cake. Such a dark chocolate cake for a dark boy,'” the senior player had said, according to Sivaramakrishnan.
The incident broke him down in tears and he refused to cut the cake. Seeing the teenager, Gavaskar immediately stepped in to comfort him.
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