‘Shame on his teammates’: Daren Sammy blasts Makhaya Ntini's South Africa teammates over racism row

The first black cricketer to play Test cricket for South Africa, Makhaya Ntini, recently revealed the alienation he was subjected to during his career. Ntini made the revelations in the wake of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement following the killing of African-American George Floyd in police custody on 25 May. Former West Indies skipper Daren Sammy has come out in support of Ntini. According to a report in Cricbuzz, Ntini spoke about his ordeal on SABC’s Morning Live on 17 July. Ntini said, “I was forever lonely. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of loneliness, is to not have someone knocking on your door and say, let’s go for dinner. That’s loneliness.” He went on to add, “You’d watch friends calling each other and then having plans right in front of you and then you’d be skipped. When you walk into a breakfast room – and you’re the first one there – you’d see the next person that walks in, he will never come to sit next to you. It’s that loneliness … we’re playing in the same team, practice at the same time, bowl to them, wear the same clothes and sing the same national anthem.” On Saturday, Sammy tweeted, “Yow this is sad and here I was wanting to be as fit as Makhaya Ntini not knowing the reason for all this running to and from stadiums. Literally running away from loneliness. Shame on his teammates. You will always be a hero to us. #MakhayaNtini.”

Yow this is sad and here I was wanting to be as fit as Makhaya Ntini not knowing the reason for all this running to and from stadiums. Literally running away from loneliness. Shame on his teammates. You will always be a hero to us. #MakhayaNtini ✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿 https://t.co/siQusV5esN

— Daren Sammy (@darensammy88) July 18, 2020

Last week, Sammy had hit out against former South African players who criticised Lungi Ngidi over his Black Lives Matter stand. Sammy shared his views on Twitter, writing, “The fact that some past players have an issue with @NgidiLungi stance on #blacklivesmatter movement is actually the reason why we are still here today saying black lives matter. Smfh #standupbrother we here with u.”

The fact that some past players have an issue with @NgidiLungi stance on #blacklivesmatter movement is actually the reason why we are still here today saying black lives matter. Smfh 😡😡😡#standupbrother we here with u ✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿

— Daren Sammy (@darensammy88) July 9, 2020

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Sammy has been pretty vocal about the racism he has faced in cricket. Last month Sammy alleged that he had been subjected to racism during his IPL stint with SunRisers Hyderabad. The cricketer lost his cool after learning the meaning of the word ‘kalu’ which he alleged was directed at him and Sri Lanka player Thisara Perera.