Deep Dasgupta refuses to link the present ball-tampering incident with the one that took place in 2001

The huge ball-tampering saga involving some of the members of the Australian team during the third Test match against South Africa is currently the most talked aspect in the cricketing world. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has handed the Aussie skipper Steve Smith one-match suspension and a fine of 100% of his match fees.

Aussie opener Cameron Bancroft who committed the unsympathetic act was handed a fine of 75% of his match fees and also been charged with three demerit points for breaching the Level 2 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the third day’s play on Saturday. Former Indian wicket-keeper batsman Deep Dasgupta highlighted this whole ball-tampering controversy as very shocking, but he also refused to link the above case with the incident happened in South Africa in 2001.

Horrendous scenes that found six Indian cricketers in a spot of bother

During the famous Test series between hosts South Africa and the visiting Indian team in 2001 many controversial incidents took place, which certainly has left some bitter scars on the Indian Cricket’s image.

During that series, six Indian players which included the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Shiv Sunder Das, Deep Dasgupta and the skipper Sourav Ganguly found themselves at the receiving end as the match referee Mike Denness had charged them for excessive appealing during the Test match. While, all six of them were handed a one-match suspension, but the Indian legend Sachin was also charged for ball-tampering, which was afterward termed as an attempt to clean the ball without the permission of the umpire.

They are both two different cases

Dasgupta who is currently doing the commentary in the World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe expressed his views on the ball-tampering issue that took place in South Africa. He mentioned that during the incident in 2001, there were only allegations on the Indian cricketers, but in this case, the Aussie captain Smith and Bancroft have already admitted their mistakes in front of the world.

“If you ask me if it brings back memories, I would say no, because, two cases are different. In our case (in 2001), it was an allegation and this time, a team captain is openly admitting his involvement. It is shocking,” said Dasgupta as quoted by Sportstar.

This was also not the first time when Smith was involved in one of the accusing incidents. During the 2017 Test series in India, the Australian captain mistakenly looked at the dressing room for advice over the decision whether to take the Decision Review System (DRS) or not. The former Indian cricketer also revealed that it is extremely shocking to know that Smith is involved in such a controversy.

“I am shocked to see Smith involved in all this. I will not single out Cameron Bancroft because the poor chap cannot be blamed alone. Such things don’t happen without the team leader’s consent.People criticized him for the ‘Brainfade’ moment last year, but I backed him, thinking that was an instinctive reaction. But now I am surprised. A group of five or six players may have plotted this. I am sure this will have a great impact on captain Smith and his image,” added the former Indian wicket-keeper.

 The decision took place in 2001 was unbelievable: Dasgupta

The happening took place in 2001 haunted to spoil the image of the Indian cricketers, especially after leading cricketer Tendulkar was charged for ball-tampering in the first result. Dasgupta also noted his views over the harsh decisions that were taken then against the favour of the Indian cricketers.

“None could believe that such a decision could come our way. It was challenging but seniors ensured that it never affected us. Even in those times, we would go out together. This helped to bond better,” he concluded.