YOUR SAY

Cricket Crisis

SAGAR MEHROTRA asked on Indian Link Radio: Have you forgiven Steve Smith in your books?

Ashok Pillai wrote: I strongly think that Smith and Warner will appeal against the sentence and it will be shortened. My guess is that Smith will return in less than 6 months even though the captaincy ban of 2 years will remain intact

Rachit Mehta wrote: Whatever u do on-field/off-field should be within the laws of cricket.

Sonali Shah Thakkar wrote: Galti ki hai toh bhugatni padegi (Do the crime, do the time). Their lives might not be the same again. They might be good men but they have to pay for the “lapse of judgement”. They are role models for many and having no penalty to face would have set a precedent that it’s ok to cheat. We all want to teach our kids to be honest and they need to teach the same. The public won’t spare anyone who does anything wrong and that’s what you have to contend with in the senior positions. Yes, their ‘crime’ may not be as severe as match-fixing but cheating to win, done in all good intentions, is not acceptable. Azharuddin and Hanse Cronje were both great players and excellent captains but aaj bhi jab unka naam aata hai (today when their names are uttered) the first thing we think of, is match-fixers.

Ajay Punj wrote: This is not new. Sledging etc has gone on for long in the name of mind games. They have shamed themselves, their country and the game of cricket. Test cricket is played these days in such a way that you have to win at any cost, fair or unfair. Was the public meltdown coached by the handlers/media advisors? Poor Bancroft, I feel for him. He did as instructed by his seniors. But what he did was unpardonable.

Shivdev Kler wrote: High praise for this young cricketer. We are all human, we all make mistakes. Smith deserves our forgiveness.

Sagar Mehrotra concluded: This incident is not going to fade away from our memory that easy, as you mentioned with the example of Azhar or Sreesanth or Cronje. I say this is just the tip of the iceberg: the culture that Australian cricket nurtures is far from fair go.

Congratulations Roanna

Writer Roanna Gonsalves has been shortlisted in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards for 2018 for her book The Permanent Resident. Pearl Fernandes wrote: Congratulations Roanna Gonsalves!

Amazing!

Rajni Luthra wrote: Woohoo Roanna! Roanna Gonsalves wrote: Thank you for your generous words, dear Indian Link

Indian Link Poll

Do you think the punishment meted out to Steve Smith and David Warner is too harsh?

No (58%)

Yes (42%)