Abhinav Mukund lashes out at racist Twitter trolls

Chennai: Abhinav Mukund has lashed out at social media trolls after the India opener was subjected to racial abuse on Twitter.

“I have been subjected to a lot of name calling and I have laughed and shrugged it off because I had bigger goals! Affected young, I toughened up because this was never something that would pull me down. There were many times when I chose not to dignify these insults with responses. Today I am speaking up, not just for me, but for many from our country who experience ridicule based on the colour of one's skin,” wrote Abhinav in an open letter posted on Twitter.

A screengrab of the tweet that triggered Abhinav Mukund’s outburst.

The left-handed batsman is currently in Sri Lanka as part of India's Test squad. A couple of days ago, Hardik Pandya had posted a group picture with Abhinav, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and a few other support staff. A reply by a Twitter user, Chander Sekhar from Chandigarh, triggered Abhinav's outburst. “the guy at extreme left in second pic is way too black to even called black (sic),” tweeted Chander Sekhar.

Abhinav said people have been obsessed with his skin colour ever since he was young. “I am writing today not to garner sympathy or attention but… with the hope to change the mindset of people on an issue I feel strongly about…Obviously with the rise of social media it has gone to a magnitude that I see people hurling abuses left, right and centre at something I have absolutely control over! Fair isn't the only lovely or handsome guys! Stay true, stay focused, be comfortable in your own skin,” wrote the Tamil Nadu Ranji captain.