'Used to avoid travelling in team bus & ran to stadium': Ntini opens up about facing racism in South African team

With the 'Black Lives Matter' movement really making a stand, former South Africa cricketer Makhaya Ntini has claimed that he was isolated by his teammates while speaking up about the topic of racism.

"I was forever lonely at the time,” Ntini, among the 30 former South Africa cricketers to come out in support of the BLM movement, said in an interview with ‘South African Broadcasting Corporation’," according to news agency PTI.

One of the most decorated bowlers of his generation, Ntini played with some of the big legends of South African cricket in Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Lance Klusener etc.

The 43-year-old is easily one of the best pacers that the world cricket has seen over the years, picking up 266 ODI and 390 Test wickets during his playing time.

"Nobody knocked on my door to go for dinner. Teammates used to make plans right in front of me, skipping me out. When walking into the breakfast room, nobody came to sit with me," Ntini said.

"We wear the same uniform and sing the same national anthem, but I had to overcome (the isolation)," he added.

The former fast bowler also revealed how he avoided travelling in the team bus and preferred running to the stadium to deal with the isolation.

"I used to see the driver of the team bus, give him my bag, and then I would run to the cricket ground. I did the same thing on the way back, I just ran back instead. People never understood why I did that, I never told them what I was trying to avoid. It became my best thing, I didn’t have to face any of it," he said.

"I was running away from the loneliness. If I was sitting at the back of the bus, they would go and sit at the front. Whenever we won, it was joyful – but I was the first to be blamed whenever we lost."

Ntini further explained how his son Thando also has faced racism.

"My son Thando has also experienced this, he was almost stopped from going on an U19 camp (on false pretences)," he added.