Former all-rounder James Franklin has had 31 Tests, 110 one-day caps and 38 T20 caps for New Zealand
Durham has said he will speak to head coach James Franklin about historic bullying allegations against Indian cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal.
ESPN Cricinfo reports that spinner Chahal, 31, claimed Franklin and former Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds tied him up when they played together in the 2011 IPL in Mumbai.
He also claimed the couple taped his mouth shut and left him in a room all night.
In a statement, Durham said they were trying to “get the facts.”
“We are aware of recent news reports of an incident in 2011 naming a member of our staff,” the statement said.
“As with all matters involving employees, the club will be speaking privately with all those involved to establish the facts.”
ESPN Cricinfo says Chahal, who currently plays for Rajasthan Royals alongside England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler, made the claims on a podcast published by another of his former IPL teams, Royal Challengers Bangalore.
“It happened in 2011 when the Mumbai Indians won the Champions League,” Chahal said. “We were in Chennai. He [Symonds] had drunk a lot of ‘fruit juice’.
“I don’t know what he was thinking, but he and James Franklin got together and tied my hands and legs and said, ‘No, you have to open the door.’
“They were so lost they taped my mouth shut and completely forgot about me during the party. Then they all left and in the morning someone came to clean [the room] and saw me and called some others and untied me.
“They asked me how long I’ve been there and I said ‘I’ve been here all night.’ So that turned out to be a fun story.”
Chahal added that he did not receive an apology, but said he and Symonds have become close friends who exchange messages from time to time.
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