IPL 2021: KKR skipper Eoin Morgan offers explanation, says THIS about ‘Sir’ tweet

Eoin Morgan had used the word ‘Sir’ to praise Buttler, who had scored an unbeaten 94 off 53 while opening the innings for Rajasthan Royals in 2018. Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Brendon McCullum was also criticised for using the word ‘Sir’.

Kolkata Knight Riders and England limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan. (Photo: IPL)

England and Kolkata Knight Riders captain Eoin Morgan and his deputy and Rajasthan Royals batsman Jos Buttler have found themselves in trouble after their old tweets, where they were allegedly mocking and mimicking Indians, went viral on social media. Social media was quick to dig out Morgan and Buttler’s old tweets after Ollie Robinson apologised for his racist and sexist tweets made between 2012 to 2014 and was subsequently suspended by the England Cricket Board.

Morgan had used the word ‘Sir’ to praise Buttler, who had scored an unbeaten 94 off 53 while opening the innings for Rajasthan Royals in 2018. Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Brendon McCullum was also criticised for using the word ‘Sir’. While Morgan wasn’t part of IPL 2018, McCullum was part of Royal Challengers Bangalore as a player.

Show the same every and suspend Eoin Morgan for that tweet. https://t.co/2lhsbiiRpK pic.twitter.com/I7m70SS2d5 — Master Wayne (@MasterWayne07) June 6, 2021

Morgan, who is set to lead England in a white-ball series against Sri Lanka from Wednesday (June 23), responded to the ongoing controversy regarding his social media activity and defended himself by saying that the word ‘Sir’ is a sign of admiration and respect.

“If I call someone ‘sir’ on social media, or anywhere around the world, it’s a sign of admiration and respect. If that’s taken out of context, there is nothing I can control or do about it, so I have not looked into it a lot,” Morgan said, on the eve of the opening T20I against Sri Lanka.

While Morgan and McCullum only used the word ‘Sir’, Buttler used broken English in his tweets. The Royals wicketkeeper batsman is yet to respond to the ongoing controversy. Buttler, Morgan and McCullum have deleted their old tweets.

Buttler, who is England’s white-ball vice-captain, is part of England’s T20I squad and might respond to the controversy during the course of the series but has decided to pull out of the remaining Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 which is set to resume in UAE in September. As per a report in telegraph.co.uk, the ECB had launched an investigation into the cricketers’ old tweets.