By IANS
London : Indian cricket captain Anil Kumble has warned that he may tear up his agreement with Australian skipper Ricky Ponting if the rival team continues to dishonour it at the Perth Test.
In an article published in The Times Friday, Kumble also accused Ponting of treating racism “lightly” in making controversial charges against Harbhajan Singh.
Kumble said in the second innings of the Sydney Test, Australian batsman Michael Clarke had clearly edged the ball to the slips but “stood there even when there was not an iota of doubt over the dismissal.”
In India’s second innings, the same player then claimed “a catch that showed more than reasonable doubt and said he was 100 per cent certain it was clean.”
“At this point, a few days before the Test in Perth, I can tell you that sort of behaviour will play a big role in my decision whether to continue the agreement that Ricky and I had made before the series began.”
He said the two captains had decided that in case of a disputed catch they would take the word of the fielder concerned, if he was certain.
“But that agreement was based on the premise that, come what may, whatever the situation, the fielder concerned would be completely straight on what happened. Now, there will obviously be a big question mark about that in future matches.”
On disputed allegations that Harbhajan had called Andrew Symonds a ‘monkey’, Kumble said having heard from the spinner and Sachin Tendulkar he was convinced that “there had neither been any racist remark made, nor intended”.
“I asked Bhajji why he started it and he said he hadn’t; Symonds did and goaded him, so he responded. But he insisted he made no racist comment.”
“Ricky, meanwhile, was just not willing to listen, nor see my point. When I offered to apologise as Bhajji’s skipper, it was only to smooth things over, at no stage did I admit that he had made a racist remark; in fact, I said he had not.”
“In my book, it’s really important that when somebody is accused of being a racist, whoever that someone is, the charge is not made lightly, is not followed up just to prove a point and is not deemed as proven unless there is absolute evidence. Unfortunately this did not happen in Bhajji’s case.”
Kumble said calling someone a racist is a “serious allegation”, particularly for Indians.
“You are not just accusing a cricketer, but the ramifications of this accusation, unproven in the eyes of almost everyone, were bound to be huge.
“India’s cricketers are the country’s ambassadors when we travel and, by making such serious charges without proof, it becomes a question of honour for the individuals concerned and the country.”
The Indian skipper said India should have drawn the Sydney Test and now need to get their batting in order.
“Too often, of late, we’ve struggled batting in our second innings to save a game. Here, we were three down at tea and then lost seven in a row. Yes, the rub of the green went against us, but we still should have stuck it out.”