Gilly rues fading spirit of cricket

Deccan Chargers captain Adam Gilchrist criticised the Delhi Daredevils for their pacer Mohammad Asif’s off-and-on presence on the field during Thursday’s IPL match even as his counterpart Virender Sehwag claimed it was within the rules.

Gilchrist said it baffled him to see Asif bowling, going out before returning again to bowl. Shoaib Malik fielded for Asif, while Delhi already had a substitute fielder in AB de Villiers for Gautam Gambhir who had injured his knee while batting.

"Players being allowed to bowl an over then walk off the field, have a substitute fielder come on then walk back on to the field, bowl an over and then go off again is a cycle which I don’t believe is in the spirit of the game," Gilchrist told this newspaper on Friday.

"I was told that it was within the laws of the game and that there was not much anyone could do. But I believe if you are fit enough to bowl, you should be fit enough to field and take part in the game. It was a bit frustrating," he added.

Also, "Asif bowled with tape around fingers on his bowling hand which is not allowed according to the rules," Gilchrist observed.

Asif’s was not the only issue. "Gautam Gambhir was also not fielding, having taken a blow when he was batting, which allowed them (Delhi) to have two of the best fieldsmen in the world as substitutes, who had a hand in crucial dismissals," Gilchrist said.

Gilchrist made it clear that "It’s not an excuse to why we lost. Delhi played better and were able to get the win. But the captains had signed an agreement at the start of the tournament about the spirit of cricket. And I think that when things like these are exploited, the cricket agreement doesn’t weigh much."

The Chargers captain said he addressed the issue with the match referee, Clive Lloyd, after the game. "I just took it upon myself to go to the match referee after the game. He was very understanding of my concern and has taken it on board. He has noted down the concern. However, we as a team are not lodging an official complaint or trying to take it any further... we just expressed our concern with the match referee," the Australian said.

Sehwag on his part, said his side was playing by the rules. "I think if umpires did not have any problems, Gilchrist too should not have any. The rulebook says a bowler can go out as many times as needed in case of external injury. Asif was injured while fielding," Sehwag said.