Former Indian Test cricketer Ashok Omprakash Malhotra courted controversy after he termed the cricket players of Assam ‘second-class citizens’ in a match between Assam and Bengal on 31st October during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 cricket tournament. However, he posted an apology on social media after the matter gained traction and the Assam Cricket Association submitted a complaint to BCCI. He stated that his comments were “totally unintentional” and that he was referring to the progress of the Assamese team. “I am sorry”, he tweeted, adding “I regret it and give an unconditional apology.”
His shocking statement came while attempting to compare the Assam and West Bengal cricket teams during their T-20 on 31 October encounter in Mohali. Doing the commentary on the match when the Assam team was batting towards the end of the match heading towards a victory, Ashok Malhotra was heard saying, “What I liked about Assam because we have been playing for Bengal, we have played a number of matches against Assam. I would always say they were like second-class citizens. They are beaten comfortably by the Bengal side and as Rohan has been saying that they have come up. They are standing toe to toe with Bengal boys and today the body language of Assam boys is much better than the former.”
The video of the match containing his remarks has gone viral on social media.
Assam past cricketers are 2nd class citizens?
— Nibir Deka (@nibirdeka) October 31, 2023
While praising Assam's game in Syed Mustaq Ali, commentator says that Assam cricketers earlier were second class citizens infront of Bengal.
Commentary should apologise to all ex cricketers of Assam@tarangagogoi @lonsaikia pic.twitter.com/SqMvxeeEbr
While he was trying to state that earlier the Assam Cricket Team was very poor and now it has improved a lot, his choice of words to express the same generated a widespread outrage in Assam. This has also not gone well with Taranga Gogoi, the president of the Assam Cricket Association.
He has slammed the contentious remarks in a letter addressed to the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI). “Regarding this matter, the ACA has written a letter to the BCCI seeking strict action in this regard. I have also talked with Jay Shah regarding this and he has assured that strict action will be taken in this matter,” he informed.
Notably, the cricket commentator made the analogy as Assam thrashed Bengal by eight wickets in the game. Riyan Parag, the T20 captain of the Assam team, put on an outstanding effort which helped his team advance to the quarterfinals of the competition with an eight-wicket victory over its competitor. Bengal set a 139-run goal for Assam while batting first. However, the northeastern state for their part showed off their potent batting ability as they easily chased down the mark with 13 balls remaining.
Ashok Omprakash Malhotra made the comments when the Assam team was batting at 121 for 2 after 15 overs, with Riyan Parag and Bishal Roy in the middle. Assam finished the match 2 overs later, scoring 142 for 2 in 17 overs and 5 balls.
