
India’s new coach Gary Kirsten believes most teams in international cricket indulge in sledging their opponents and only the form and degree varies.
“As far as I know most teams sledge. We mustn’t think that it’s just one country (Australia). Lot of countries get involved with it, some do it differently than others,” said the former South African opener in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Kirsten said while he did not believe in the need for sledging an opposition player, players from his country of birth also indulge in the despicable habit at some point of time.
“I believe in not sledging and that’s how I was. Everyone is different. The emotions are high and there’s lot of passion out there (at the international level).
“Everyone has got a different opinion. I don’t know what the right way is. I know that the South African side are good at it,” he said.
Kirsten felt that the increasing professionalism in the sport led to an increase in the matter of sledging and warned that matters would come to such a pass that action would be taken by the authorities.
“We are in a professional era. The stakes are high and it’s very competitive. Lot of gamesmanship is taking place and somewhere down the line there will be a high level policy decision taken (on this issue)”, he added.




