Days after maintaining a stoic and conspicuous silence on the ball tampering scandal, Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar broke his silence, on Tuesday.
He took to his Twitter handle and termed the entire incident as “unfortunate” while calling the punishment granted to Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft as the “right decision.”
“Cricket has been known as a gentleman’s game. It’s a game that I believe should be played in the purest form. Whatever has happened is unfortunate but the right decision has been taken to uphold the integrity of the game. Winning is important but the way you win is more important,” he wrote.
Cricket has been known as a gentleman’s game. It’s a game that I believe should be played in the purest form. Whatever has happened is unfortunate but the right decision has been taken to uphold the integrity of the game. Winning is important but the way you win is more important
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) March 28, 2018
Tendulkar’s silence on the matter has been questioned ever since the scandal broke out on the fourth day of the Test match between Australia and South Africa in Cape Town. Notably, the BCCI has decided to ban David Warner and Steven Smith from playing in the 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The entire scandal has caused unprecedented outrage among cricket fans across the globe with many demanding a lifetime ban on Smith and Warner.
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David Warner, Steven Smith and Cameron Bancroft have flown back to Australia in the aftermath of the scandal and the Kangaroos will be led by wicket-keeper Tim Paine for the fourth Test against South Africa at Johannesburg.
Interestingly, Cricket Australia has also said that coach Darren Lehmann did not know anything about the entire scandal and will continue with his job.