‘Yuvraj Singh Maafi Maango’ trends over casteist remark on Chahal

Yuvraj used a derogatory term to refer to Chahal during a live chat with Rohit Sharma

yuvraj-singh-yuzvendra-chahal Yuvraj Singh; Yuzvendra Chahal | Reuters; AFP

Former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh has found himself in hot water after a clip of him making a casteist remark to refer to leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal went viral. He made the comment during an Instagram Live session with India vice-captain Rohit Sharma.

The clip in which Yuvraj has used the slur has been widely shared on social media, with several users demanding that the former all-rounder apologise to Chahal over it. A hashtag ‘Yuvraj Singh Maafi Maango’ (Yuvraj Singh must apologise) was also trending on Twitter.

Many celebrities, including Indian cricketers, have taken to social media in the past few months to cope with the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19. During such an interaction with Rohit in April, Yuvraj had used the derogatory term while talking about Chahal’s TikTok videos.

In the clip, Rohit and Yuvraj are seen discussing Chahal’s TikTok videos, in which he regularly involves his family members to perform with him. The former all-rounder not only passed judgment on Chahal’s decision to involve his family members, but also casually made the casteist remark. Rohit, meanwhile, was seen laughing at Yuvraj’s reaction.

The clip has outraged many on social media. Yuvraj has not yet responded to the criticism.

This is not the first time Yuvraj has faced the ire of social media users. Earlier in March, Yuvraj, along with fellow cricketer Harbhajan Singh, was at the centre of a social media storm for pledging support to Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi’s foundation to help people in the fight against COVID-19.

However, the duo later clarified that they regretted supporting Afridi following his sharp remarks against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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