IPL 2018 | Being passionate is fine but it should not make a player boorish and loutish, says Sunil Gavaskar

IPL 2018 | Being passionate is fine but it should not make a player boorish and loutish, says Sunil Gavaskar

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Sunil Gavaskar has come out in favor of the decision to reprimand quickies for disrespectful behavior and feels that being passionate is fine but it should not make a player boorish and loutish. Avesh Khan and Shivam Mavi were reprimanded for breaching IPL code of conduct in the match on Saturday.

After a disastrous start for Mumbai Indians, the team seem to have found their momentum by beating an in-form Chennai Super Kings. It looked like a convincing win for Mumbai Indians, which was led by Rohit Sharma from the front scoring 56 off 33 balls. Gavaskar reminded of the fact that Mumbai always have always been slow starters and then, have gone on to become the champions. 

“The churning in the IPL continues as teams go up and down the points table. Have Mumbai Indians began their turnaround with that fine win over table-toppers Chennai Super Kings? Remember, they have been slow starters in previous editions too and have subsequently gone on to win the trophy,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for TOI. 

Rohit has batted at number 4 for Mumbai Indians this season, but in the match against CSK, he promoted himself to number 3, which helped them seal the win. Appreciating captain’s decision to bat one slot up in the batting order, Gavaskar said, “What was noticeable is how Rohit Sharma took responsibility and batted one number up the order and guided his team to a win. His record in limited overs cricket is phenomenal and so it makes cricketing sense that he should be playing as many overs as possible and batting higher up the order gives him the chance to do so.”

Not ruling out the mighty CSK, Gavaskar wrote, “Chennai may have stumbled in their return encounter with the defending champions, but they have the ability to bounce back.”

Drawing similarities between Mumbai and Delhi’s campaign, he pointed out that both the teams have won their last match convincingly and could be a turnaround in the fortunes of both the teams. Both the teams have won only 2 games and both their captains played brilliant knocks in the last match. The striking similarity between both the teams is undeniable. 

 “CSK take on a Delhi Daredevils outfit, who, like Mumbai, stopped a losing streak after a fabulous innings from their new skipper Shreyas Iyer gave them a score over 200 for the first time this season. Will it be a turnaround for them too? They have the bowling to choke the opposition and with Iyer leading from the front they certainly can do that. With the combative Ricky Ponting's guidance they can lift themselves up the ladder quite quickly but they know they cannot afford to have another off day,” he wrote.

Avesh Khan and Shivam Mavi were reprimanded for sending off batsmen using abusive language for their respective teams in Delhi Daredevils match against Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday. Gavaskar was happy to see authorities taking action of on misconduct of the players and felt that sending off batsmen with abusive language was a disease and must be treated quickly before it spreads. 

“It was good to see that the two young Indian quickies have been reprimanded for using abusive language to send a batsman off. It's a disease that has to be nipped in the bud before it becomes an epidemic,” he said.

“Clearly, they have been influenced by seeing their heroes do it on the TV monitors and seeing them get away with it and so think that that's the way to celebrate. The reprimand should be a good warning to them and all others to ensure that respect is shown to the opposition even in the moment of victory,” he mentioned.

Gavaskar explained that victory should be a moment of joy and there should be no anger and youngsters should learn from MS Dhoni, who remains humble in the victory as well. 

“It's been hard to understand why there is so much of anger when a wicket or scoring a fifty or a hundred should be a moment of pure joy and happiness. A smile will light up everybody around them as well as those watching on TV. They should take a leaf out of Mahendra Singh Dhoni's book where, even after hitting the winning six, he walks calmly off the field ensuring he is not rubbing the opponents' nose in the dust but being humble in victory too,” he explained.

“Being passionate is fine but it should not make a player boorish and loutish on the field and hopefully the lesson will be quickly learnt now that the ICC is finally tackling player behaviour as a priority,” he added. 

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