Sunil Gavaskar praises "big man" Steve Smith for admitting his mistake

03/30/2017

Sunil Gavaskar has commended Australian captain Steve Smith for accepting that his emotions got the better of him in the recently concluded India-Australia series. Smith had been heavily criticized throughout the series for the infamous DRS-gate incident and calling Murali Vijay a " f***ing cheat".

Despite some great cricket shown by both the teams, the verbal duels reached a point of no return that left a sore taste in the mouth of cricket fans on both sides. Everything started in the second Test in Bengaluru where Smith had sought advice from his dressing room regarding a DRS review - the now famous DRS-gate.

Smith called his actions a ‘brain-fade’ but Kohli commented that his actions were against the spirit of the game, saying “There’s a line that you don’t cross on the cricket field, sledging and playing against the opponents is different. I don’t want to mention the word, but it falls into that bracket. I would never do something like that on the cricket field,” after India’s victory in the Bangalore Test.

Similarly, in the last Test in Dharamsala, Steve Smith has been caught on camera calling Murali Vijay a ‘f***ing cheat’ after the Indian had claimed to have poached a catch that was later ruled not out. But, after the end of the game, Smith apologized for letting his emotions get the better of him.

"I've been very intense and in my own little bubble and at times I've let my emotions and actions just falter a little bit and I apologise for that throughout this series,” Smith told journalists after the match.

That statement appears to have moved Gavaskar as who praised Smith for accepting his mistake.

"Steve Smith is a big man to admit that he has made a mistake," Gavaskar told NDTV. "My respect for him has gone even higher for admitting that he was wrong."

Aakash Chopra also echoed a similar sentiment stating, "Not only a great batsman but Steve Smith is a very good human being."