Why India are appealing against Gambhir ban

Once again, Team India, under the patronage of the BCCI’s top brass, have decided to challenge the lawmakers of the International Cricket Council.

Once again, Team India, under the patronage of the BCCI’s top brass, have decided to challenge the lawmakers of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Less than a year after the Sydney Test drama surrounding Harbhajan Singh, Gautam Gambhir will appeal against the one-Test ban imposed on him by match-referee Chris Broad.

But this time, the Indians aren’t too bothered about the final outcome, they’re just hoping to exploit one of the loopholes in the ICC framework so that Gambhir can play the crucial fourth Test. As per the rules, a player is allowed to play pending the decision of his appeal.

The ICC confirmed that they received the official appeal on Friday evening, less than 24 hours after the verdict. The release said that the ICC would appoint an independent ‘appeals commissioner’ for a hearing in the next 48 hours and that the hearing would be completed within seven days of the appointment.

Story continues below this ad

With just a four-day gap between matches — the fourth Test starts in Nagpur on November 6 — chances are slim that the verdict will be out before the game. If Gambhir is found guilty after the Nagpur match, he will instead miss two one-dayers against England. And, with the selectors already in tangle as more and more ODI contenders have emerged, it’ll only help resolving the opening problem for the time being, with both Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag expected to be available.

Broad pronounced his verdict on Friday morning. He stated in the press release: “The decision to find Gambhir guilty of a level 2 offence is indicative of the fact that any degree of physical contact is unacceptable.” Gambhir had, in Thursday night’s hearing, pleaded guilty to the charge under rule C1 of the code (level 2), accepting that his conduct was not within the spirit of the game.

Interestingly, while the penalty has been seen as harsh, especially in terms of the 10 per cent fine on Shane Watson, the match referee indicated that he’d been lenient with Gambhir.

“Had Gambhir been charged with and found guilty of a charge under 2.4, due to his previous offence, I would have been obliged to impose a minimum penalty of a two-Test ban. In view of the umpires, the facts of the case — the lightness of the physical conduct and the element of provocation — would not justify such a penalty,” he stated.

‘Double bonanza for poor, middle class’: PM’s swadeshi pitch ahead of new GST roll out

India5 hr ago

PM Modi announced the rollout of new GST rates, calling it a "GST bachat utsav" and promising cheaper prices for medicines, insurance, and daily essentials. He emphasized that these reforms would ease doing business, attract investment, and benefit the poor, middle class, MSMEs, farmers, women, traders, and youth. He urged citizens to promote swadeshi goods.

View all shorts

Live Blog