Hardik Pandya takes a knee in IPL to support of 'Black Lives Matter' movement

Last week, West Indies Test skipper Jason Holder, who plays for the Sunrisers Hyderbad, had expressed his disappointment over none of the IPL teams taking a knee in solidarity with the movement, which, he felt, went unnoticed in the league. "To be honest, I haven't had one conversation up here around it (BLM).

Mumbai Indians all-rounder Hardik Pandya has become the first player in the ongoing Indian Premier League to take a knee in support of the 'Black Lives Matter' movement. Pandya's gesture came during the game against Rajasthan Royals here on Sunday.

The all-rounder smashed 60 run from just 21 balls. After reaching his half century in the 19th over, he went down on a knee with his right arm raised to show solidarity with the movement against racism. West Indies all-rounder and Mumbai's stand-in skipper Kieron Pollard responded by raising his right fist.

After the match Pandya even tweeted a picture of himself with the caption "#BlackLivesMatter". Last week, West Indies Test skipper Jason Holder, who plays for the Sunrisers Hyderbad, had expressed his disappointment over none of the IPL teams taking a knee in solidarity with the movement, which, he felt, went unnoticed in the league.

"To be honest, I haven't had one conversation up here around it (BLM). Sometimes it seems it has gone unnoticed, which is a sad thing. "I guess it's for us to re-highlight the importance of it, for people to understand what is happening in the world," Holder had said.

The "taking a knee" gesture started in the West Indies' Test series in England this summer in protest against racism after African-American George Floyd was killed by an on-duty white police officer in Minneapolis. But the gesture was later discontinued for the subsequent tours of Pakistan and Australia.

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