By IANS
New Delhi : With the International Cricket Council (ICC) removing umpire Steve Bucknor from duty at the Perth Test, India should continue its Australia tour, former UN under-secretary general and author Shashi Tharoor has said.
“If it is confirmed that the ICC has removed Bucknor from the Perth Test, then India should go ahead with the tour in the spirit of the game,” Tharoor, an avid cricket fan, said here Tuesday.
India’s tour of Australia is in jeopardy after the hosts went 2-0 aided by a string of decisions against the visitors by umpires Bucknor of Jamaica and Mark Benson of England in the second Test of the four-Test series.
The ICC also slapped a three-Test ban on Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh for alleged racial abuse against Australia’s Andrew Symonds, a charge the Indians have denied vehemently.
“This is not the first time that Bucknor has done this to India. In fact, I cannot remember a single Test in the last 10 years in which the Indian team has been happy with Bucknor,” said Tharoor, who is here for the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2008, the annual conclave of the Indian diaspora.
He added that now with the ICC taking action against Bucknor, the Indian team should move from Sydney to Canberra to play a scheduled tour match so that they can get some much needed practice before the crucial third Test.
About the Harbhajan issue, he said, “We have got good grounds to appeal against the ICC decision. It is actually bizarre that the match referee (Mike Proctor) took one person’s word against another’s without any viable proof in hand.
“India is the only team in the world that can challenge Australia in Australia,” the author-diplomat said.