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'Inzy's dismissal alright, Shoaib a bigger culprit'
He said people who are now criticising Dravid maintained silence on Shoaib Akhtar, who was more unsporting while hurling a beamer at Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Hitting back at those criticising Rahul Dravid for getting Inzamam-ul-Haq out for obstructing the field during the first one-dayer at Peshawar, former Test opener Chetan Chauhan on Thursday defended the Indian captain, saying the Pakistani was correctly given out under the rules of the game.
Chauhan said people who are now criticising Dravid maintained silence on Shoaib Akhtar, who was more unsporting while hurling a beamer at Mahendra Singh Dhoni during the second Test at Faisalabad.
"Nobody said anything when Shoaib Akhtar bowled a beamer at Dhoni. This is the most unsporting gesture as the beamer was deliberate and intentional. You can't murder someone and say sorry. For that he should have been banned at least for two matches. I am shocked no action was taken against him," Chauhan said.
The former cricketer, who shared many a successful opening partnership with the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, supported Team India coach Greg Chappell's reported observation on 'Rawalpindi Express' that he did not have a clean action while bowling certain deliveries.
"I agree with Chappell that certain deliveries of Shoaib are not normal and clear," he added.
On Inzamam's dismissal issue, Chauhan said the Pakistani skipper was guilty of intentionally stopping the ball with his bat and was correctly given out under the rules of the game.
"Inzamam was definitely out of the crease. He technically has no business to stop the ball. He had enough time to sway away from the stumps and his action was intentional," he said.
Chauhan defended the action of Dravid and his men, saying the sport has become increasingly professional these days.
"The game has become professional and there is very little difference between sporting and unsporting behaviour," he said.
"If the fielder had thrown intentionally at the batsman then I would have called it unsportsmanlike," he said.
Chauhan said Indian players' appeal for Inzamam's wicket for obstructing the field was alright as per the rule book and umpires also thought so to give him out.
