Published: Mar 14, 2017, 07:59 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 14, 2017, 07:59 PM (IST)
Kolkata: Former Australia captain Michael Clarke on Tuesday hailed the joint decision of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket Australia (CA) to resolve the Decision Review System (DRS) controversy, saying it is for the greater good of the game that the difference are put to bed. In the second Test in Bengaluru, Aussie skipper Steven Smith unlawfully sought the nod of his teammates from the dressing room for using DRS after he was adjudged leg before wicket to pacer Umesh Yadav. Though India won the Test to level the four-match rubber 1-1, the BCCI decided to lodge an official complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC). Full Cricket Scorecard: India vs Australia, 3rd Test at Ranchi
After a meeting between the CEOs of both boards, it was mutually decided to lay to rest the controversy. “Whatever happened in the previous Test match is gone and now what’s important is they come out and play in Ranchi. I don’t know who made the decision, I think it was BCCI in communication with Cricket Australia saying ‘you know what we are not taking this any further’,” Clarke said while interacting with former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who launched the Australian’s autobiography “My Story”.
“I think it’s really important [to let the game go on] as this Test series has been fantastic to watch. I think it wouldn’t be any different in Ranchi or Dharamsala. Both teams want to be really competitive and so I think this decision is good for the game of cricket,” added Clarke, who led Australia to the 2015 World Cup.
The middle-order batsman, who retired in late 2015, gave his World Cup winning shirt as memorablia to the Fanattic Sport Museum, which hosted his book launch. Ganguly held the shirt for the photographers present. Later, the city-based southpaw made tongue-in-cheek comment about that World Cup moment.
“I did not want to hold that T-shirt because they beat us in that 2003 World Cup final. And then again in the 2015 they beat India in the semi-final.” Asked to compare India captain Virat Kohli with Ganguly as both are aggressive captains, Clarke said it is Kohli’s attitude of risking even defeat for a taste of victory that intrigues him most.
“Virat Kohli has his own style. Sourav had his own way. It’s like Ricky Ponting and I. He [Virat] has love, passion, and desire that he wants to win at all cost. Virat has the aggression to risk losing for the sake of winning. That is a great trait,” Clarke said. Clarke did not want to run down the Indian batting becuse they failed to play spin that well in the first Test and also in the second where Steve O’Keefe and Nathan Lyon respectively got the better of them.
“The Indian team haven’t played as well as they can. They are good players of spin. I would like to give more credit to Nathan Lyon and O’Keefe as they deserve a lot of credit. Yes, these are spin friendly conditions but they had to exectue it,” Clarke said.
