Chahal alleges Franklin, Durham's head coach, and Andrew Symonds tied him up and left him overnight while the trio were teammates at Mumbai Indians in 2011
Durham have issued a statement addressing head coach James Franklin’s alleged involvement in the bullying of bowler Yuzvendra Chahal, telling the BBC the club are speaking "privately with all parties involved".
Franklin and Chahal were teammates at Mumbai Indians during the 2011 Indian Premier League and the Indian spinner alleges the New Zealander and Andrew Symonds left him tied up and gagged for an entire night. He was found the following morning by a member of cleaning staff.
"It happened in 2011 when Mumbai Indians won the Champions League," he said. "We were in Chennai. He [Symonds] had had a lot of 'fruit juice' (laughs). I don't know what he was thinking, but he and James Franklin got together and tied my hands and legs.
"They were so lost that they taped my mouth and forgot about me completely during the party. Then they all left and, in the morning, someone came to clean [the room] and saw me, and called a few others and untied me.
Franklin during his time with Mumbai Indians [Prakash Singh/AFP via Getty Images]
"They asked me since when I had been there, and I said, 'I've been here the whole night'. So that became a funny story."
According to Chahal, neither player has ever apologised.
Chahal first discussed the incident several months ago, but it has come back into the spotlight after he appeared in a video with Rajasthan Royals teammate Ravichandran Ashwin and revealed a second bullying incident which occurred while he was at Mumbai.
On that occasion, he alleges an unnamed teammate dangled him over the side of a 15th-floor balcony.
Addressing Franklin’s involvement, Durham told the BBC: "We are aware of recent news reports surrounding an incident in 2011 which name a member of our staff. As with any matters involving employees, the club will speak privately with all parties involved to determine the facts."
Franklin was appointed head coach of Durham in January 2019, replacing Jon Lewis.
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