Bengaluru (Karnataka): The 'Spirit of Cricket' discussion has come up yet again after veteran Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews was timed out earlier in the World Cup in their game against Bangladesh. While Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan, who was subsequently ruled out of the marquee tournament, was well in the rules, he was slammed by former cricketers for not withdrawing the appeal.
India head coach Rahul Dravid says there is "no real right or wrong" amidst the spirit of cricket conversation surrounding Sri Lanka’s Angelo Matthews’ dismissal. And, speaking ahead of his team’s final group-stage game at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup against the Netherlands here, Dravid, himself a legend of the game, said he thinks there should always be room for both sides of the debate within cricket. “Everyone thinks differently. We are all unique creatures and we have our own minds and our own thoughts. And the players will be the same,” Dravid told reporters at the pre-match press conference.
“Each one of us will think differently about a particular situation. And there is no real right and wrong. You can go and debate both. You can debate whether we have to stick to the rules as they are. Or you have to sometimes give a little leeway for a little bit of spirit of cricket. And there'll be people on both sides of the camp."
“I think just understanding that it's okay to have those differences is fine. It's fine to have those differences and some people might agree or not agree with certain decisions that were taken," added Dravid. Speaking after the match against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan said he would always do what was needed to win a match for his team as long as it was within the rules."
Dravid said while people may not always agree, a player shouldn’t be blamed for acting within the laws of the game. “Others will say no it's in the rules so I'm allowed to do it and that's the way it is you know you can't. When someone wants to take the letter of the rule of law to the last degree, I don't think you can complain about it because honestly, he's just following the rules as he sees it."
“I mean, you might not do it yourself. I mean, you know, we might not do it, but you can't blame somebody for following it because you put that in place and you have to give scope for that level of understanding of somebody. Whether you choose to do it or not is completely your decision," added Dravid, who represented Karnataka in the domestic circuit.
The ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 playing conditions pertaining to "timed out" dismissals reads thus: 40.1.1 After the fall of a wicket or the retirement of a batter, the incoming batter must unless Time has been called, be ready to receive the ball, or for the other batter to be ready to receive the next ball within 2 minutes of the dismissal or retirement. If this requirement is not met, the incoming batter will be out, Timed out.
Matthews became the first player in the history of ODI cricket to be Timed Out as he walked back to the pavilion without facing a ball at the Kotla in New Delhi.
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