I faced racism but tried to ignore it, says former England bowler Isa Guha 

Isa Guha (left) with Shane Warne.

Post the death of George Floyd, the cricket fraternity has been talking about racism extensively. West Indies’ Darren Sammy and a few other cricketers have spoken about being bullied for the colour of their skin. The latest from the cricket world to talk about racism is former England fast bowler Isa Guha.

Indian-origin Isa Guha discussed her experience of growing up in the UK in a podcast 'How to combat racism in cricket' on ICC's show Interviews. Isa Guha was joined by host Ian Bishop, Darren Sammy, JP Duminy and Tom Moody.

"Obviously as a person of colour, I have been reflecting quite a lot on the issue of racism in the past one week. I did face racism but I often tried to ignore it to the point where I have actually forgotten those comments from the past. You are doing it because you wanted to fit in to the society," Isa Guha said.

Isa Guha played in an all-boys team as a child

Cricket happened to Isa Guha at a young age when she started playing with British boys. She says that playing in an all-boys team made her feel like she belonged to a minority, but her parents’ support made her reach new heights.

"I was fortunate because my parents were very supportive of what I was doing. I started playing cricket with the boys from an early age. I was the only British Indian in the side full of white British and Pakistani boys. From a female point of view, you kind of feel a bit of minority in an all-boys team. But then, when you are growing up in that environment, you sometimes over compensate and try and fit in. However, when you look back at some of the comments made in the past, you think that I should have said something because that wasn't right," Isa Guha said.

Isa Guha made her debut against India in 2002, taking five wickets. She played eight Tests, 83 ODIs and 22 T20Is, taking 29, 101 and 18 wickets respectively.