Hashim Amla Condemns 'Delusional' Supremacism, Hails Lungi Ngidi For Standing Up Against Racism

Hashim Amla's statement came after as many as 30 former South Africa cricketers had come out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement

PTI

Updated on: 15 July 2020 9:52 pm

Former South Africa skipper Hashim Amla on Wednesday expressed solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, saying people who believe one race or nationality to be superior to the other are "simply delusional". (More Cricket News)

The 37-year-old batsman, who led South Africa in Tests between 2014 and 2016, also backed fellow cricketer Lungi Ngidi, who was recently criticised by ex-Proteas like Pat Symcox and Boeta Dippenar for supporting the BLM campaign.

"... The imagined superiority of whites over blacks or blacks over whites, or one nationality over another, is simply delusional. Yes that's right - nothing but delusional," Amla, who has scored 9282 runs in 124 Tests and 8113 runs in 181 ODIs for South Africa, wrote in an instagram post.

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Waking up to 100s of messages on my whatsapp is a usual occurance especially with the introduction of whatsapp groups. Most of the time it's not serious stuff but I now know that being offline for a day(for whatever reason) can throw you into a storm unwittingly. Well... here's my (latest) weather report The Black Lives Matter (BLM) campaign has relevance for everyone. Why? In the Islamic tradition it is understood that the first man, Adam (peace be upon him), was of dark skin henceforth all of humanity have deep roots to this proud heritage and should have zero qualms in being refered to as black. This make it even clearer for the person who believes in their black lineage that the imagined superiority of whites over blacks or blacks over whites, or one nationality over another, is simply delusional. Yes that's right- nothing but delusional. However many of us, including myself have bore the brunt of these delusions and have crazy stories to tell which is why it makes it even more admirable to see exceptional youngsters like @lungingidi doing his bit to represent us all. Thank you brother and all those who stand up for just causes in their own way-publically and privately. I speak for myself and those who share this belief that the end product of being racist is only self destruction and social change. There are oppressed people here in this country and the world over, of all colours and walks of life, cricket included. However the darker skinned people have had the worst of it. Some may convince themselves otherwise but you have to ask yourself - are those who know the same as those who dont know? Justice for all is the only true justice that will bring peace and anything else is sadly delusional. So why is Black Lives Matter relevant for us ?... because we are all black (to me anyway). I stand with all those who are oppressed. And I stand with @lungingidi (again). This pic is from his debut in January 2018. #bigmanbigsmile #istandwithlungi
A post shared by Hashim Amla (@hashamla) on Jul 15, 2020 at 12:33am PDT

"However many of us, including myself, have bore the brunt of these delusions and have crazy stories to tell which is why it makes it even more admirable to see exceptional youngsters like @lungingidi doing his bit to represent us all.

"Thank you brother and all those who stand up for just causes in their own way - publicly and privately."

On Tuesday, as many as 30 former South Africa cricketers, including Makhaya Ntini, Herchelle Gibbs and Vernon Philander, had come out in support of the BLM movement, saying racism remains a part of the game in the country.

Ngidi was criticised after he said that racism issue is "something that we need to take very seriously and like the rest of the world is doing, make the stand."

"There are oppressed people here in this country and the world over, of all colours and walks of life, cricket included. However the darker skinned people have had the worst of it," said Amla, who scored 311 not out against England in 2012 -- the highest by a South African.

"Some may convince themselves otherwise but you have to ask yourself - are those who know the same as those who don't know?

"I stand with all those who are oppressed. And I stand with @lungingidi (again)."

Ngidi had also received support from the South African Cricketers' Association and Cricket South Africa, who came out with statements in favour of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Former cricketer Ashwell Prince, who also led South Africa in a few matches, had called the country's system "broken" and claimed that several national team players faced racial abuse on a tour of Australia in 2005.