London. Rishi Sunak, the first British Prime Minister of Indian origin, said on the fourth day of the second match of the Ashes Test series (England vs Australia) at the Lord’s Cricket Ground here that he faced racism while growing up in this country. Sunak was asked on the BBC’s prestigious ‘Test Match Special (TMS)’ radio program on Saturday about a report released about ‘pervasive and deep-rooted’ racism and sexism at all levels in the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). So he himself refused to face it in cricket.
I haven’t experienced it in cricket, but I’ve definitely experienced racism growing up,” Rishi Sunak, a 43-year-old cricket fan, told BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew in response to a question. ‘It affects you in a serious way. I am in a profession where I have to face criticism every day, every hour, every minute. But racism affects you in a very serious way. It hurts a lot.
Another one crossed off the bucket list 🏏🎧
Earlier today, I sat down with the legendary Jonathan Agnew for @bbctms to chat cricket, growing up in an NHS family, my priorities as Prime Minister and why I got into politics. pic.twitter.com/KwUdjGdgV3
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) July 1, 2023
Sunak said the report by the ‘Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC)’ is ‘very sad’ for cricket lovers like him. The British prime minister said he is ‘confident’ the ECB is responding appropriately to the findings of its report. He linked the country’s becoming the first British-Indian prime minister to “incredible progress” in tackling racism. He said, “Today I am satisfied that the things I had to face in my childhood will not happen to my children.
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