By IANS
Perth : In an attempt to clear the muddied atmosphere following slanging matches and acrimony, the Indian cricket team dropped charges of abuse against Australian spinner Brad Hogg here Monday.
In a meeting attended by both captains and convened by International Cricket Council’s (ICC) chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle, India skipper Anil Kumble handed over a letter to Madugalle, rescinding all charges against Hogg. The decision to withdraw the charges was reported by IANS Sunday.
Hogg was accused of calling Kumble and his deputy Mahendra Singh Dhoni ‘bastards’ during the controversial second Test match in Sydney. The match was also marred by Australia’s charges of alleged racism by Harbhajan Singh, who was banned for three Tests by ICC Match Referee Mike Procter.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as well as Harbhajan have appealed against the ban and the ICC has appointed Judge John Hansen from New Zealand as Appeals Commissioner to hear them. The hearing is likely to be held after the four-Test series.
Kumble in his letter to Madugalle is believed to have stated that he is offering not to press the charge against Hogg only to create a congenial atmosphere in the larger interest of the game.
“I value the meeting with Ranjan and Ricky Ponting together. The meeting was in the best interests of the game and has strengthened my belief that the game is of paramount importance,” said Kumble.
“We have agreed that we must uphold the interests of the game and it would be our collective responsibility to ensure that the game of cricket is played by both the teams as role models of this glorious game of cricket,” he added.
Ponting also appreciated the decision and said: “It was taken in right spirit. We have to make sure that we uphold the spirit of the game as we did in the first Test.”
“I am convinced that both teams can move into the next game clearly understanding the parameters under which the game should be played, and the teams acknowledge that the game must be played in its true spirit,” he said.
India’s media manager M.V. Sridhar, however, added that the decision to drop charges against Hogg has nothing to do with three-test ban on Harbhajan Singh.
“It was decided in the team meeting and the members responded to Kumble’s call. It has nothing to do with Harbhajan’s ban.”
Madugalle said he was happy with the move to drop the charges.
“I am happy to say that both Ricky Ponting and Anil Kumble were extremely supportive in all dealings I have had with them and I am in no doubt they want to move forward and draw a line on what happened in the past couple of weeks,” said Madugalle.
“Ricky and Anil understand and agree that the interest of the game is paramount and that it should always be played in the correct spirit and with mutual respect between opponents. The two captains know they are role models for millions of people and are aware of their responsibilities in projecting the game in a positive way,” he added.