Accusations of cheating do much to damage the reputation of the cricketers as well as teams. It is time for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take cognizance of the controversies that continue to undermine team India’s successes.
Cricket Australia and the BCCI might have a treacherous road to navigate in their future bilateral endeavours if some controversies are not nipped in the bud. Controversies like those revolving around Ravindra Jadeja and more recently Rishabh Pant continue to be raised in print and on television shows in Australia and unless the BCCI or the Indian cricketers step in, they stand being devalued even in the face of an impressive back-to-back Test series win down under.
If Australia’s coach, Justin Langer, was seen furiously arguing with David Boon, the match referee, during the short format series over the concussion injury matter with reference to Ravindra Jadeja and India’s use of the substitute rule for bringing on Yuzvendra Chahal in a like for like replacement, the other similar accusation of India manipulating the rules is lingering longer, plausibly because of the loss of face Australia suffered at the Gabba in 32 years.
Australian writers and so-called television experts suggest that India should have been put pressure on by the match referee and the International Cricket Council (ICC) to explain how Rishabh Pant could not take the field and keep wickets during Australia’s second innings at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) after being peppered with a short ball by Pat Cummins but did come out to bat at no.5 during India’s final innings. Their allegation is that Pant was not as seriously injured as originally believed and that the Indian team management might have once again used the situation to their advantage to bring on their better wicketkeeper, Wriddhiman Saha, for the duration of Australia’s innings.
Not missing a beat to put down Pant who played a big role in bringing India to a cusp of a possible win in Sydney but more importantly, allowing them to draw the match and then pushed the match situation and history in Brisbane for India to record a historic second Test series win down under, Australia are finger-pointing to Pant’s obvious shortcomings as a wicketkeeper and how India might have manipulated the rule to ensure that India could compensate when Pant was spilling opportunities with the glove.
While it is commendable that India tuned out the noise to focus on first drawing the match in Sydney and then winning the Test and the series in Brisbane, ongoing debates like this only undermine what has been a phenomenal feat for team India. Perhaps the BCCI will have something to say when CA come knocking again asking for a five-Test series as they did last year to match the Ashes and raised the coffer value.