India cricketer R Ashwin on Monday said the ball-tampering saga that Australian players have been caught in would not have blown up so much if not for technology. The 31-year-old also appeared to suggest that what the Australian cricketers did “can happen in the heat of the moment”.
“It’s very difficult sitting at a distance and commenting on what might have happened in the dressing room,” said Ashwin, when asked about the controversy at a promotional event organised by Chinese electronics company Oppo.
“These things happen in the heat of the moment,” he said. “I’m not trying to stand for it but the fact remains that [cricket] is entirely tech-driven and you have to be extra careful especially when you are in the public eye and have the responsibility to carry out yourself in the utmost dignified manner as possible.”
He added, “That is one of the disadvantages of technology growing so much...I would say it is literally dictating play in terms of cricket and life for everybody. If technology hadn’t gone this far, we would not be talking about this so much.”
India batsman Rohit Sharma, who was also present at the event, chose not to talk about the controversy when asked about it. “I don’t know if it’s relevant for me to comment about that sitting so far away. I don’t know what must have happened there,” he said.
Australia captain Steve Smith has been banned for one Test match and fined 100% of his match fee after admitting that the team’s “leadership group” had devised a plan to tamper with the ball during the third Test against South Africa at Cape Town. Smith was also stood down from his role as skipper for the remainder of the match, which Australia went on to lose.
Television footage showed Smith’s teammate Cameron Bancroft taking a yellow object out of his pocket while fielding and appearing to rub it on the ball. Bancroft was later charged with attempting to change the condition of the ball and fined 75% of his match fee.
Cricket Australia was under mounting pressure to act decisively from key sponsors who voiced “deep concern” over the scandal. Everyone from former Test greats, to the Australian Sports Commission, and the public condemned what happened, with the story dominating front pages, television news and coffee shop chatter. The Marylebone Cricket Club also called for a “major shift in attitude” to preserve the game for future generations.
With inputs from AFP
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