‘Referee did the right thing’

Gautam Gambhir was pained at the abandonment of the India-Sri Lanka ODI at his hometown, but stated emphatically that authorities did the right thing in calling the game off, reports HT Correspondent.

Gautam Gambhir was pained at the abandonment of the India-Sri Lanka ODI at his hometown, but stated emphatically that authorities did the right thing in calling the game off.

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“I think the match referee did the right thing. He must have given it serious thought. It was not an ideal wicket for a one day international match,” said Gambhir.

Match referee Alan Hurst, in consultation with the onfield umpires and players of both teams, abandoned the final ODI in the 24th over.

There has been much debate over whether the game could have continued, with experts and officials of the Delhi & Districts Cricket Association (DDCA), suggesting that the teams should have tried harder to complete the game.

Gambhir’s view, the first public account from an India player, was at odds with that of the DDCA.

Former India opener and DDCA vice-president Chetan Chauhan has said he was “unofficially informed” India were happy to play on and went to the extent of saying Sri Lanka “chickened out.”

Gambhir did not agree with the assessment that the match could have been played on the surface prepared.

“The whole world now knows why the match was called off. Had the wicket been alright, there would have been a full match on Sunday,” said Gambhir who is a brand ambassador for Royal Stag Mega Cricket.

“This is an embarrassing situation which doesn’t happen often and someone has to stand up and take the responsibility.”

At the moment, different parties have blamed each other and several curators have been removed from their posts or resigned, but no-one has accepted responsibility for the fiasco.

Gambhir, who has captained the Delhi Ranji Trophy team in the past and currently leads Indian Premier League (IPL) team Delhi Daredevils, who play their home games at the Kotla, has always been proud of representing his state.

On many occasions he has spoken out in favour and support of both the DDCA and the Delhi team, while constantly urging the association to what’s best for cricket.

On this occasion, the true-blue Delhi boy was in no mood to attempt to defend the indefensible.

“It was both embarrassing and disappointing. A 4-1 win would have looked more comprehensive,” said Gambhir.

“We wanted to end the year on a high with a win.

“It would have given us a momentum going into the tri-series in Bangladesh,” he said.

For India, the year has ended well on the field, but off it, things have been far from rosy.