The third Test between England and India saw plenty of banter and drama with players going hard at each other. Post the game at Lord's, former cricketer Owais Shah weighed in on the verbal fights. He admitted to loving the banter but also raised some concerns:
"I love it. I love the fact that there's needle, plenty of abuse, I love that. But you've also got to remember that there are kids watching TV. You don't want to be setting those sort of examples. That's the flip side. That's the wrong side of what we are trying to do on TV," he said while talking on the 'Beard Before Wicket' podcast. (12:36)Wrist-spinner Adil Rashid also opined on the fights during heated moments. He reckoned that there is a balance of when to draw the line. However, Rashid felt that one would want such banter while watching from the outside.
"There's a balance of when to draw the line. But in terms of entertainment purposes, from looking from outside, you want to switch on to watch this kind of stuff. It gets that battle, that Test match feeling. Back in the day, the McGraths, the Laras, they used to have that real thing. So, for this to go about like this in terms of entertainment purposes, very good," he said.Owais Shah also spoke about how players are a lot friendlier with each other in the present. He believes it has a lot to do with them playing together in various franchise leagues:
"I think guys are a lot more friendlier now because of all these leagues everyone plays in. A lot of our English players play in the IPL. You play with Indian players, against their players. It's not at the same level. You're not playing for your country so you are chilled out. You get to know each other a little bit and you do carry those friendships on," he opined. (14:43)England beat India by 22 runs in the third Test, defending a low score of 193. They are now 2-1 up in the five-match series.
Owais Shah believes ICC guidelines are a bit too strict
Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj was fined 15 percent of his match fees for breaching the ICC's Code of Conduct during the third Test. He was involved in a heated altercation with English opener Ben Duckett. Siraj gave him a fiery send-off after dismissing the batter.
Talking about the fine, Owais Shah stated that the ICC guidelines are a bit too strict at times.
"I do think that the ICC guidelines are a bit too strict at times. If he jumps, there's a bit of aggression, a bit of a send-off, it's not the end of the world. I don't believe in people squaring up on a pitch. It's sport, yeah. We are not at war, we are not trying to kill each other. It's sport. So let's try and put things into context. If you do find yourself fired up in the moment, just let it play out a little bit, there's nothing wrong with it. Just let it go, it's fine. You've got to have that banter, otherwise it's too boring," he said. (16:10)The fourth Test begins on Wednesday, July 23, at Old Trafford, Manchester. It is a must-win Test for India to keep their hopes of winning the series alive.
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Edited by Ashwin