KARACHI: Former Pakistan cricketer and qualified cricket coach Atiq uz Zaman has revealed how he and other Asian cricketers faced racism in England and how it was casual for people to use derogatory terms like “Paki” or “bloody Asians” for players from Pakistan.
In an exclusive chat with Geo News, Zaman revealed the name of the person who he, without taking names, pointed out in one of his tweets last month.
Zaman alleged that he was targeted racially by a development officer named Paul Bryson at Lancashire.
“It was back in 2006, I was introduced to Bryson by another development officer for some coaching assignment. I got a stint and did a couple of sessions. For the third session, I couldn’t reach as my car was having some problem,” he recalled.
“I texted Paul about the problem but he didn’t reply to my messages or my calls. The same evening, he phoned me and complained about my absence. When I reminded him that I had texted him, we exchanged some heated words before dropping the phone. After a few hours, he texted me again asking if I was that ‘samosa seller’ he saw at Edgbaston,” Zaman said.
According to Atiq, it was racially offensive for him and Paul would’ve never referred to any British as “samosa seller”.
He confirmed that he didn’t report the case but shared it with another officer who didn’t entertain it as a complaint.
“I was new to the society, I was still finding a job and wanted to settle, that’s why I refrained from taking it further as I believed that it could’ve jeopardised my career there,” the cricketer said.
“Also, it was normal for us to hear words like Paki or bloody Asians. It would hurt us then but we couldn’t do much about it,” he said adding that the matter is not limited to one or two counties but in fact, racism was deeply rooted in English cricket.
The former Pakistan wicket-keeper confirmed that following his tweet in November, he was interviewed by officials of Lancashire county cricket club in which he informed the club officials about everything.
He told them that steps were needed to be taken to ensure Asian coaches and cricketers aren’t discriminated against.
“If someone is highly qualified and yet not getting any opportunities then he would surely think that it is because he’s from a different race,” the former Pakistani cricketer said.
He added that the revelation by Yorkshire Cricketer Azeem Rafique and his response to it has encouraged others to talk about racism they’ve been facing.
“To my knowledge, some 1,500 to 2,500 people have approached English authorities with complaints about racism they faced at different levels at various counties,” he revealed.
