After a big controversy in history of cricket, finally ICC taken a practical step to clear Harbhajan Singh to play until the decision is made on the BCCI appeal against the ban. ICC also has taken a favorable step for the Indian by removing Steve Bucknor from remaining matches in the series.
In place of Bucknor, New Zealand umpire Billy Bowden and Rauf will thus be the umpires for the remaining two Test matches. The ICC also decided to bring in Sri Lankan Ranjan Madugalle as a facilitator to ensure that the match is played in the right spirit.
Meanwhile, the ICC has also confirmed that it has received official notification from the BCCI of its appeal against the finding that Harbhajan was guilty of making a racist remark to Symonds. The ICC will appoint a Code of Conduct Commissioner to hear the appeal.
After Sydney test Indian team opposed to travel to Canbera for the practice match to be played between ACTXI from 10th of January due to poor umpiring and three test match ban on Harbhajan Singh.
I am an Indian immigrant to NZ, now living in Australia and can't help but feel what a joke this Indian team is! One of their players makes a racist slur and then have the cheek to appeal the 3 Test match ban and threaten to boycott the rest of the tour. Moreover, they claim “Monkey” is not a racist term?? Huh? Not so long ago that was the term used by the British colonials to describe the dark skinned Indians! Go ahead, take the next flight home! But alas, as much as its supposed to be a people's game, corporate money talks and the ICC buckled under pressure ... sad, very sad. Personally, I think Harbhajan should have been banned from the game of cricket for 2 years!! That's what happens in football.
I honestly wonder, how the Indian team would have re-acted if one of the Aussie players called them a donkey or a snake (as they are called in Britain - a racist term)? Yes, truth hurts my Indian friends.
As for the "dubious" decisions, had Australia been on the receiving end, they would have risen above it and still gone on to win. This is the difference between Australia and the rest of the cricket world - and no, they wouldn't have done it by cheating either. Australia have mastered the art of gamesmanship which is practiced by EVERY team to get the upper hand (India included). It was India's lazy fielding, inept batting & silly antics (Harbhajan rolling around like a “Monkey”) that caused their downfall.
I am saddened that ICC has buckled instead of standing their ground. What they have effectively done is opened the doors wide for future player taunts and racist remarks to go unpunished. They have now set a very dangerous precedent. Since when did 1 player's ego (or 11 Indian players and a couple of BCCI board members for that matter) become bigger than game itself? It is the game that brought them their fame, not the other way around.
To those Indians living in Australia, supporting the Indian side in this controversy, if you live in Australia and have accepted Australia as your home, then I suggest strongly - BE Australian. If indeed your loyalty lies with India, then what are you doing outside of India? You are a guest in this country and as such show some respect to your hosts - don't voice your traditional, backward thinking, caste grasping ideals which are not welcomed outside of India.
Finally, to the Indian community leaders in Australia and the BCCI representatives, please stop speaking on EVERY Indian's behalf. I know of many Indians here in Perth and most are very embarrassed by this Indian teams' behaviour and the tanturm of some BCCI representatives. If cricket is a religion in India as one of these so called leaders said it is, how is it that they cannot produce 11, world beating, cricket champions? Australia on the other hand, with the population the size of Mumbai, has been the team to beat in the last decade or so.
The only thing the whining of the Indian team and officials have done is rile up the Aussie team and increased their resolve to take the series in a clean sweep and send the Indian team home with their tails between their legs.
