IPL 2021: Kolkata Knight Riders may come down hard on skipper Eoin Morgan, coach Brendon McCullum for tweets mocking Indians

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Eoin Morgan (right) with coach Brendon McCullum. (Photo: IPL)

Historical posts by Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan and coach Brendon McCullum might come back to haunt them with Shah Rukh Khan-owned Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise set to take action on the issue. The 2018 tweets had come to light after England paceman Ollie Robinson’s suspension by England Cricket Board (ECB) for historical racial and sexist tweets.

In a social media exchange of 2018, England limited-overs captain Morgan and English and Rajasthan Royals wicketkeeper batsman Jos Buttler engaged in an exchange in which they used the word ‘Sir’ to mock Indian fans. The two were later joined by former New Zealand skipper McCullum. Some of those involved have apparently taken down the posts but the screenshots of their exchange have already surfaced.

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

“We don’t know enough about it to comment at this time. Let’s wait for the process to be completed to get all the facts before we jump to any conclusions. Just to reiterate, the Knight Riders organisation has ‘zero tolerance’ for any sort of discrimination,” KKR CEO Venky Mysore was quoted as saying by a cricket website on Wednesday night.

“Although there are questions over the precise context of the tweets, they were written at a time when Buttler and Morgan were established England players and have caused offence on social media,” a report in UK Telegraph said about the two English players’ Twitter comments.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), which had acted swiftly on Ollie Robinson social media comments by suspending him, has ordered an investigation. The ECB provided a statement to this website on Wednesday night.

“Since we were alerted to offensive tweets last week, a number of historical social media posts by other individuals have been questioned publicly as well. There is no place for discrimination in our sport, and we are committed to taking relevant and appropriate action where required. Given the concerns which have been raised are clearly now broader than a single case, the ECB will discuss how we deal with issues over historical social media material in a timely and appropriate manner. Each case will be considered on an individual basis, looking at all the facts. We will assess cases with the ECB before making further statements,” an ECB spokesperson said.