Gambhir, Rohit , Ashwin and Tendulkar bat for under-fire Australians Smith and Bancroft
Indian cricketers Gautam Gambhir, R Ashwin and Rohit Sharma took to Twitter to give their support to the grieving Australian duo of Steven Smith and Cameron Bancroft in the aftermath of the ‘Sandpapergate’ saga. Sachin Tendulkar also joined the bandwagon asking for some space for the two players.
It has been a whirlwind of a week for Australian cricketers Steven Smith and Cameron Bancroft ever since they were caught on camera last Saturday in Cape Town trying to alter the nature of the ball illegally. After a week of being paraded around in the public eye and in the media, Smith and Bancroft were both handed suspensions by Cricket Australia.
Smith, the former skipper of Australia, was handed a 12-month ban and would not be considered for a leadership position with the team for another 12 months post the completion of the ban. Bancroft, on the other hand, was given a 9-month ban and the same sanction as Smith received.
Both the Aussies held separate meetings with the press upon their arrivals back in their home country. The duo appeared to be extremely disappointed and gutted by their actions, and Smith even broke into tears in front of the media as his dad came to his aide to comfort him.
There was support from all parts of the globe for the distraught pair, especially from the Indian subcontinent as players took to social media to offer their support on the whole ‘Sandpapergate’ issue.
Indian opener Rohit Sharma posted a tweet where he claimed that the emotional press conference of Steven Smith was something that he could relate to personally.
— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) 29 March 2018
Indian spinner and former CSK player, R Ashwin also took to Twitter to extend his support to Smith as he claimed that the world just wanted to see the under-fire player break down into tears in order to pay for his mistake.
The world simply wants to see you cry, once you have cried they will feel satisfied and live happily ever after. If only Empathy was not just a Word and people still had it. God give @stevesmith49 and Bancroft all the strength to come out of this.🙏
— Ashwin Ravichandran (@ashwinravi99) 30 March 2018
Delhi Daredevils skipper, Gautam Gambhir had quite a few things to say about the entire incident. He claimed that the sanctions handed out to Smith and Bancroft were a bit ‘harsh’ and could have been a result of Smith’s previous scuffle regarding a pay-hike with Cricket Australia.
While cricket needs to be corruption-free but feel sanctions on Aussies bit harsh. Are @stevesmith49 & @davidwarner31 paying for revolt for pay hike? History has it administrators deride those who standup for players’ cause. Classic case: Ian Chappell #BallTampering #StevenSmith
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) 29 March 2018
He also sympathized with Smith and his father, as he pleaded that the general public should go easy on the player’s family and loved ones.
Feel sorry for @stevesmith49 dad (in pic) other family members. Hope media n Aussie public go easy on them as families can be soft targets. More than d ban living wid this feeling of being called a cheat is a bigger punishment. #BallTamperingRow pic.twitter.com/L2sV8BgWAH
— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) 29 March 2018
The legendary Sachin Tendulkar, one of the most honorable players to have ever graced the game, also batted for the duo as he asked the people to give the pair some space to deal with the whole incident and pay for their mistakes.
They are regretting and hurting and will have to live with the consequences of their act. Spare a thought for their families as they have much to endure along with the players. Time for all of us to take a step back and give them some space.
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) 29 March 2018
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