The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Unsporting appeal by India

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 09, 2006

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Unsporting appeal by India

Moin Khan

`Dravid has let himself and his team down'

— Photo: S. Subramanium

TIMELY REMINDER: Being a seasoned campaigner Inzamam-ul-Haq has to be thorough with the rules of the game in order to be a perfect role model.

I believe it was very unsporting of the Indian cricket team to appeal against Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq for obstructing the field and that too at a very crucial stage of the first One-Day International at Peshawar. To me, it appears that the Indian team was desperate to win the game by hook or by crook, no matter even if it came at the expense of the norms of this sport known as the gentleman's game.

I don't blame Suresh Raina for throwing and then appealing. He is new to the game and his enthusiasm is understandable. But the back-up by skipper Rahul Dravid is deplorable. He is not new to the sport and should have realised what consequences his decision would have on the series (being played under the banner of Friendship) and likewise, on his personality.

Spirit of the game

A captain needs to stand tall and handle situations, specially when they come at critical stages of the game and, I think, Dravid has not only let himself down but also his team. I am dead sure that if Sourav Ganguly had been captain, the matter would have been defused tactfully and sportingly. But probably Dravid still needs to go a long way before he can fit properly into Sourav's shoes.

I understand that according to the laws of the game, Inzamam was out and if he does not know the laws, then it is not the fault of the law but Inzamam himself. But my point is that there are several cricketing laws that we don't follow because they are not considered within the spirit of the game.

Batsmen don't run for singles or twos when the ball is deflected off their bodies or bats from throws, batsmen pick the ball and throw it to the close-in fielder or the bowler when it falls close to them. So much so, when Greg Chappell told his brother Trevor to bowl the last ball under-arm, it was also within the laws of the game.

On Inzamam's part, I think it is time that he reads the laws of the game instead of making a fool of himself in the prize distribution ceremony by saying he does not understand the law. If a man, after playing international cricket for 16 years, can't understand the laws, what message is he passing on to the next generation of players present in the dressing room or knocking at the doors of international cricket.

Eye opener

The incident is also an eye opener for the cricket establishment and if it can have a refresher and written exams for the domestic umpires and match referees, it can start similar tests for the first-class cricketers so that when they enter the international arena, they know the laws and their interpretations.

The Peshawar incident is now a test case for Inzamam because I have all reason to believe that tempers will be high in the Pakistan camp and the players would not waste any opportunity to give the Indian batsmen a dose of their own medicine.

Consistent outfit

The more I see of this Pakistan team, the more I get fond of it because it is gaining the same consistency, intensity and reputation Pakistan enjoyed from 1986 first under Imran Khan and then under Wasim Akram. The only difference being that this team is young, while the previous ones were experienced and included mega stars.

But what those teams could not achieve was successfully chase targets, which this side is now doing on a more regular basis. This indicates the mental toughness, determination and never-say-die policy for which all the credit must go to Inzamam.

Aggressive Inzamam

Inzamam, contrary to the general perception, has been an aggressive, courageous and tough competitor and that's what he has successfully injected into this team. I mean the way they batted in Peshawar was exemplary and praise-worthy and all credit must go to young guns Salman Butt and Shoaib Malik for setting the perfect stage. They never let the pressure of the 329-run target get to them, and, in fact, forced the Indian bowling into submission. It was sad that bad light intervened and the result came with the assistance of Duckworth-Lewis method.

Nevertheless, I still think Pakistan would have got 18 off 18 without much trouble as the last three overs had to be shared between Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar and Murali Kartik after Irfan Pathan and Sreesanth had run out of their quota. — PTI

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail