On April 18, 2026, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan posted the phrase "Orange is better than Black Any-day" on his X (formerly Twitter) account. The statement "orange is better than black" was recently made by former Indian cricketer and commentator Sivaramakrishnan on social media. Some users and observers interpreted the comment as Sivaramakrishnan’s support to Sunrisers Hyderabad who will be playing against the Chennai Super Kings today at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.

Fellow cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin responded by jokingly noting that neither is a primary color, while "Yellow" (associated with the Chennai Super Kings) is. Sivaramakrishnan then later replied to Ashwin’s post saying he was talking about politics to which the player apologised and replied by saying ‘Orange is the new black’, later clarifying the context to the Netflix series titled the same.

Laxman Sivaramakrishnan steps down as commentator due to constant racism

This specific comment follows a more serious controversy involving Sivaramakrishnan in March 2026.Sivaramakrishnan announced his retirement from BCCI commentary duties after 23 years.He alleged he was repeatedly sidelined for on-camera roles such as tosses and post-match presentations due to his skin color. He explicitly agreed with a social media user that "color discrimination" was a factor.While his initial comments on X (formerly Twitter) suggested systemic bias, Sivaramakrishnan later clarified that his grievance was not with the BCCI administration or Jay Shah. He stated it was a "one-on-one" issue with a specific BCCI employee.

In interviews with The Indian Express and other outlets, he recounted traumatic racist incidents from his playing days in the 1980s, where a teammate once mocked him on his 17th birthday, calling his dark chocolate cake the "right color for a dark boy".He was reportedly mistaken for ground staff by a senior player and told to clean shoes.He faced taunts from crowds in North India using racial slurs. These experiences, according to Sivaramakrishnan, led to a lifelong struggle with low self-esteem and mental health issues.