Home IPL News IPL 2020: Hardik Pandya takes a knee in support of Black Lives Matter The Mumbai Indians all-rounder becomes the first player in the ongoing IPL to take a knee in support of the anti-racism movement. PTI Abu Dhabi 26 October, 2020 11:56 IST Hardik Pandya takes the knee during his unbeaten knock of 60 against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday. - BCCI/IPL PTI Abu Dhabi 26 October, 2020 11:56 IST Mumbai Indians all-rounder Hardik Pandya became 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.REPORT | Stokes hundred keeps RR aliveThe 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.” #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/yzUS1bWh7F— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) October 25, 2020 Last week, West Indies Test captain Jason Holder, who plays for the Sunrisers Hyderbad, had expressed his disappointment over absence of the anti-racism stance.ALSO READ | Playoffs schedule out, Dubai to host final“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 it was later discontinued for the subsequent visits to the U.K. by Pakistan and Australia. Subscribe to our daily newsletter Get your daily dose of Sportstar with handpicked stories delivered right to your inbox! SUBSCRIBE Please enter a valid email address.