"We're All Unique Creatures...": Rahul Dravid's No-Nonsense Take On 'Spirit Of Cricket' Debate At World Cup

After Angelo Mathews' timed out dismissal in the Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka Cricket World Cup match, the 'Spirit of cricket' debate has again come up. In the 146-year-old history of international cricket, such an incident never happened where a batter was dismissed for failing to take strike within the stipulated time. The heated deliberations started after Angelo Mathews was declared timed out following an appeal of Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan after the Sri Lankan batter could not get ready in time to face his first ball, coming in after the dismissal of Sadeera Samarawickrama.

Former Indian cricket team captain and the current Indian cricket team coach Rahul Dravid has now opened up on the 'spirit of cricket' debate.  

"Recently we have seen a few incidents which has again created a lot of debate, especially on the other side of the ground. Playing with the spirit of cricket and maintaining the rule of cricket. So, there is a lot of debate on this. So, just wanted to know your view or the views of the players, those who perform on the field. How they take on a situation like this?" Rahul Dravid was asked by a reporter. 

Indian cricket team coach Rahul Deravid gave a detailed reponse. "So, I think like you just said yourself, everyone thinks differently. We are all unique creatures and we have our own minds and our own thoughts. And the players will be the same. Each one of us will think differently about a particular situation. And there is no real right and wrong. You can go and debate both the situations," Rahul Dravid said in the pre-match press conference. 

"You can debate whether we have to stick to the rules as they are. Or you have to sometimes give a little leeway for a little bit of spirit of cricket. And there'll be people on both sides of the camp. And I think just understanding that it's okay to have those differences is fine." 

Rahul Dravid added that if someone goes by the rule-book, that person can't be blamed.  

"It's fine to have those differences and some people might agree or not agree with certain decisions that were taken. Others will say no it's in the rules so I'm allowed to do it and that's the way it is you know you can't - when someone wants to take the letter of the rule law to the last nth degree, I don't think you can complain about it because honestly, he's just following the rules as he sees it.

"Yeah, I mean, you might not do it yourself. I mean, you know, we might not do it, but you can't blame somebody for following it because you put that in place and you have to give scope for that level of understanding of somebody. Whether you choose to do it or not is completely your decision."

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Sri Lanka Cricket Team Bangladesh Cricket Team Angelo Mathews Shakib Al Hasan Rahul Dravid World Cup 2023 Cricket