Rishi Sunak, the first British Indian-origin Prime Minister of Britain, recently opened up about the painful experiences of racism he faced while growing up in the UK. He spoke about this during a special appearance at the England versus Australia Ashes Test match held at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London.
During an interview on the BBC’s renowned ‘Test Match Special’ (TMS) radio show on the fourth day of the second Ashes Test, Sunak was asked about a recent independent report that uncovered “widespread and deep-rooted” racism, sexism, elitism, and class-based bias in cricket. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had issued an unreserved apology in response to the findings of this report.
In his response to a question by BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew, Sunak acknowledged that while he hadn’t personally experienced racism in cricket, he had encountered it during his upbringing. He described the pain of racism as something that stings in a way that very few other things do, even though he is accustomed to facing criticism in his current role as Prime Minister.
Sunak admitted that the ICEC report was difficult to read and deeply saddening, especially for someone like him who loves the game of cricket. He expressed the collective desire of all cricket enthusiasts for the sport to be inclusive, open, and accessible to people from all backgrounds, where everyone feels respected and supported.
The Prime Minister expressed confidence in the ECB’s response to the report’s conclusions and highlighted the significant progress made in combating racism by referencing his own position as the first British Indian Prime Minister. He also found solace in the belief that the experiences he faced as a child would be unlikely to happen to his own children today.
Born in Southampton, Hampshire, on the southeastern coast of England, Sunak shared his love for cricket and revealed that he developed this passion by watching Hampshire County games in his hometown. He recently expressed his excitement about India hosting the Cricket World Cup in October during an India Global Forum UK-India Week reception held in the garden of 10 Downing Street, where he jokingly mentioned his bowling action.
