How will the ICC ban sledging?

A ‘complete ban’ on sledging in cricket is a preposterous proposition that will be as hard to implement as to define.

But the Indian cricket Board, according to its secretary Niranjan Shah, is all set to ask the International Cricket Council (ICC) for a ban on anything bordering on the offensive, during a chief executives’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur on the sidelines of the under-19 World Cup.

But what exactly will be categorized as sledging, or as in the words of the Indian official, anything close to being offensive? Will it be only abusive language or exchange of words of any sort, for modern-day gamesmanship makes it difficult to ascertain what is friendly banter and what a veiled challenge or threat.

Abusive language is not allowed and there are enough ICC laws to take care of that. Players are fined or banned for bad conduct and one wonders how differently a total ban on sledging can be executed. The process would still require witnesses and audio or video evidence, which will not always be possible to obtain, leaving grey areas like in the Harbhajan-Symonds episode.

Also, will a pace bowler, who asks the batsman how the leather smells after unleashing an irksome bouncer, be categorized as one who sledges? Or for that matter, a spinner, who challenges to be hit out of the ground? One does not always need to use abusive language to rile a rival and sledging is enmeshed in competitive sport.

Shah has said that cricket is not a contact sport and hence there is no place for abusive language in the game, forgetting that a fiery bouncer or a beamer can be really disconcerting too.

The BCCI secretary has also been quoted as saying by a leading newspaper that the juniors in the team have been advised to follow the exemplary behaviour of the seniors in the team. One wonders whether Harbhajan is among the seniors to be looked up to! In the same breath, Shah is also reported to have said that the Indian players would still be backed in case of a controversy.

Though the Indian players might have been pushed against the wall by the Aussies, the fact is that the Indians are enjoying sledging as much as any other team in the world. Harbhajan has not only conceded mouthing expletives to Symonds even if not the racial word, he has been seen trying a hideous somersault on one occasion and wagging his tongue on another. S. Sreesanath is not the most liked of players on the international circuit and even captain Kumble used gamesmanship to get rid of Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf during a recent Test series. Indian players are no saints and sledging is rampant in domestic cricket as well, as was evident on the third day of the Duleep Trophy match between West Zone and the visiting England Lions.

The onus is on cricket Boards to rein in their players if they consider those indulging in sledging to be such fiends. A beginning could be made at the junior World Cup itself, where the players of tomorrow will be showcasing their talent, hopefully with bat and ball, not in sledging!