Cheteshwar Pujara
Legendary Australia spinner Shane Warne has been facing heat of the fans due to his recent on-air comments about Cheteshwar Pujara. Pujara was among the top-scorers of India on the first day of the pink-ball Test.
Showing grit and resilience while staying at the crease for over 150 deliveries, the Saurashtra batsman scored 43 runs and steadied India's innings after the early departure of both the openers -- Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal. Pujara ended up scoring 43 off 160 deliveries while stitching a 68-run stand with skipper Virat Kohli. India managed to post 244/10 in the first innings with Kohli being the top-scorer (74).
When Pujara was at the crease, Warne, who was in the commentary box, was slammed for 'casual racism' towards the Indian batsman.
On air with Fox Cricket during the first session of the Test, Warne referred to the nickname given to Pujara when he was playing county cricket with Yorkshire. As Pujara's first name wasn't among the easiest names to pronounce, teammates used to call him 'Steve', recalled Warne while commentating.
A couple of years ago, Pujara himself had admitted of being called 'Steve' by his Yorkshire teammates. “Well I would prefer Cheteshwar, but it’s difficult to pronounce so the guys have come up with Steve,” Pujara is quoted as saying by cricket.com.au in 2018.
Pujara being referred to as 'Steve' was criticized by many fans when former Yorkshire captain Azeem Rafiq had filed a legal complaint against the team for "institutional racism". Two former Yorkshire employees had also provided evidence against the club, mentioning Pujara being called with a generic name during his stint in county cricket.
"They called every person of colour 'Steve'. Even (India batsman) Cheteshwar Pujara, who joined as an overseas professional, was called Steve because they could not pronounce his name."
Warne, later in the day, also took a dig at Pujara when the right-hander stopped the play to adjust the sightscreen. “Look how wide the sightscreen is. Come on, that (cover) can’t be putting him off. Are you for real? That can’t be it! That’s not serious," commentated Warne.
