Highlights
- Deepti Sharma has been subjected to immense criticism.
- Harsha Bhogle took to Twitter and wrote a big thread relating to the incident.
- Harsha wrote that the rest of the world no longer feels obligated to think England's way.
Deepti Sharma has been subjected to immense criticism following her mankading of Charlie Dean. English fans and experts have been at the forefront of it all, bashing Deepti for affecting a run-out they term against the spirit of the game.
Harsha Bhogle took to Twitter and wrote a big thread relating to the incident. He said that he finds it very disturbing that England wants the world to believe what they think is right and wrong.
"I find it very disturbing that a very large section of the media in England is asking questions of a girl who played by the laws of the game & none at all of another who was gaining an illegal advantage and was a habitual offender. That includes reasonable people & I think it is a cultural thing. The English thought it was wrong to do so & because they ruled over a large part of the cricket world, they told everyone it was wrong. The colonial domination was so powerful that few questioned it," wrote Harsha.
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Harsha then wrote that the rest of the world no longer feels obligated to think and behave the way England wants.
"As a result, the mindset still is that what England considers wrong should be considered wrong by the rest of the cricket world, much like the "line," the Aussies say you must not cross having decided what the line should be which is fine in their culture but may not be for others. The rest of the world is no longer obligated to think the way England does and so we see what is so plainly wrong. So too the notion that turning tracks are bad but seaming tracks are fine. The reason I say it is cultural is that it is what they are brought up to think. They don't think it is wrong," Harsha said.
Harsha then went on to say that the best way is to play within the laws of the game and worry less about the spirit of the game which is subjective.
"The easiest thing is to play by the laws of the game & stop worrying about subjective interpretation of the spirit of the game, stop forcing opinions on others. The law says the non-striker must be behind the crease till the bowler's arm is at its highest point. If you obey that, the game will move along smoothly. If you point fingers at others, like many in England have at Deepti, you remain open to questions asked of you. It is best if those in power, or who were in power stop believing that the world must move at their bidding. As in society, where judges implement the law of the land, so too in cricket. But I remain disturbed by the vitriol directed towards Deepti. She played by the laws of the game and criticism of what she did must stop," wrote Harsha.
England all-rounder and Test skipper, Ben Stokes reacted to Bhogle's comments asking why did he need to bring in culture over mankading?
Well, this did not stop here as Stokes also reacted another few of Bhogle's Tweets.
Deepti Sharma's Mankad of Charlie Dean and the things that have followed are refusing to die or slow down. Understandably, different individuals have varying opinions on the matter. Also, as per the new rules, the section regarding Mankad has been moved from unfair play to run-out.
