If you\u2019ve not been following every twist and turn in the cricket conversation, a Mumbai Indians post from a day after their win over Punjab Kings in Dharamsala might have looked puzzling. The clip features Tilak Varma\u2014named Player of the Match\u2014emerging from the dark while a Bollywood track plays in the background, with lyrics built around the theme of darkness versus light.<\/p>\n
To avoid you having to wade through the comment sections, here\u2019s the context. A day before the encounter, Punjab Kings pacer Arshdeep Singh shared a video on Snapchat in which he points to Tilak and calls him \u201candhera\u201d\u2014meaning \u201cdarkness.\u201d The line was widely read as an insinuation about Tilak\u2019s complexion. Arshdeep then asks whether Tilak has applied sunscreen, a remark that can feel like it\u2019s aiming at the same stereotype, whether it was meant as a reference to fairness-sun product advertising or simply more skin-colour taunting. The video also shows Tilak standing beside Mumbai\u2019s Naman Dhir, and Arshdeep finishes with the statement: \u201cThis is the real glow of Punjab.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since that post, observers have flagged a few other remarks from Arshdeep\u2019s social media that may fall into the same category. It\u2019s unclear whether Mumbai intended their later post as a \u201cfitting reply\u201d, but if that was the plan, it doesn\u2019t land as well as it might have seemed. At best, it trivialises a comment that\u2014if made in the middle of the game\u2014could reasonably have led to disciplinary action, including ejection. Arshdeep may view it as a small matter, and Tilak might treat it similarly, but the way Tilak appeared in the original video\u2014awkward and uncomfortable\u2014suggests otherwise to anyone watching.<\/p>\n
Only recently, legspin standout L Sivaramakrishnan\u2014who rose to prominence in the 1980s\u2014spoke about how taunts linked to skin colour affected him. Abhinav Mukund, who is also from the south, has discussed similar experiences in the past. Even when something is presented as light-hearted talk, it can still land harshly on those who witness it. Here, the key point is that the remarks were published voluntarily by Arshdeep on his own channels.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also another angle on why Arshdeep might see it differently. Certain communities in India are frequently singled out for their appearance. Setting aside the post-9\/11 era where some people confused Sikhs with Arabs because both wear turbans, the broader reality is that mainstream films and popular culture offer very few \u201cnormal\u201d Sikh characters. More often, they\u2019re reduced to stock figures\u2014comic types, caricatures built on patriotism, or characters who are written to be killed off quickly after their first appearance. You can\u2019t even place a Sardar in the stands without a shallow jibe like \u201cballe balle\u201d being used to infantilise them. Navjot Sidhu, for instance, has long drifted as a caricature even after his detour into serious politics.<\/p>\n
It may seem unfair to expect someone like Arshdeep to recognise that this is rooted in a pattern, especially when the comment is framed as if it\u2019s just banter between teammates. But when a person is already used to being \u201cothered,\u201d they may react instinctively to any taunt by normalising it\u2014particularly through jokes. One outcome of that coping mechanism is that abuse can start to be treated as acceptable, and then those stereotypes become a convenient target for harassment, even before anyone else has the chance to call it out.<\/p>\n
My own schooling offers a small illustration of how casually such categories can be applied. I studied at Guru Harikrishan Public School, and in one class I had three classmates\u2014each nicknamed by their parents. The nicknames were Kala, Gora, and Bhoora, and all three were Sikh boys. In that environment, subtlety wasn\u2019t exactly the norm in Punjab. A child might be labelled based on skin tone, while formal names often arrived only when the child began school.<\/p>\n
So, in that sense, it\u2019s understandable that Arshdeep might treat his remarks as friendly teasing\u2014something between two players who know each other better than the outside world ever will. That\u2019s the problem, though: even \u201cfriendly\u201d talk can carry the weight of a society that routinely discriminates and sorts people by religion, region, caste, class, skin colour, gender, and sexuality.<\/p>\n
High-performance sport is also an arena where competition can sharpen egos and encourage bullying behaviour. That isn\u2019t to claim Arshdeep is a bully himself, but to underline the reality that for many players, the environment isn\u2019t designed to protect them from humiliation. Shoaib Akhtar once put it to me as a rite of passage\u2014something that, in his view, can build character. \u201cIt\u2019s very simple,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen a youngster comes to a nets session, push him. Let him know he is going to be pushed around. He has to push back. I am going to bully you. You have to stop being bullied.<\/p>\n
\u201cThink about the ball you are carrying. The batsman cannot bully you. This ball will go according to your wishes. You want him to do this, he will go and do what you want him to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even so, the wider context matters. Arshdeep has attended at least two ICC events, meaning that on at least two occasions he would have been trained on what counts as racist or discriminatory behaviour, what bullying looks like, how to deal with it, how to respond to it, and what consequences exist for anyone who crosses the line as a perpetrator.<\/p>\n
The BCCI, the IPL, and the franchises are expected to monitor these issues and push the sport toward greater inclusion\u2014rather than ignoring it or, worse, legitimising it as \u201cbanter.\u201d If action isn\u2019t taken, the damage is amplified by the very public nature of modern leagues, including the decision to bring Tilak into the ordeal again by calling him \u201candhera,\u201d even if it was intended as a stunt. If they choose to act, the BCCI and the IPL also have overarching provisions that allow them to bring the game, the board, or the league into disrepute as a basis for disciplinary steps.<\/p>\n
To some, calling this out may sound severe, even like \u201cutter woke nonsense.\u201d But the point is simple: we all end up better when discrimination is treated as discrimination, not entertainment. And in this instance, that includes Arshdeep as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you\u2019ve not been following every twist and turn in the cricket conversation, a Mumbai Indians post from a day after their win over Punjab…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":10230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"IPL News: Arshdeep\u2019s Jab on Tilak Sparks Debate","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Arshdeep\u2019s \u201candhera\u201d jab at Tilak Varma ignites a colourism debate in IPL, after a Mumbai Indians post goes viral post-match in Dharamsala.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n