Australians are no saints - TeluguPeople.com News

If there are two Indian cricketers who habitually get under the skin of the opposition, it is without doubt S Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh. The fact that they are both bowlers and pretty enthusiastic on rankling the opposition ensures that there will not be too many dull moments with them around in this edition of the World Cup.

Sreesanth has already warmed up to the World Cup by first infuriating Australian skipper Ricky Ponting and in the next match needling New Zealand's Brendon McCullum.It is only a matter of time before Harbhajan Singh too followed suit, for both these bowlers have now made it a habit to annoy and shake rival players out of their comfort zone. Frankly, attitudes and gamesmanship as theirs is a given in international cricket. As long as the duo do not cross the line and get penalised by the match referee for conduct unbecoming of an international cricketer, we should accept the character and passion these two bring to the table.

Of course, the Australians and South Africans, who assume their players are on the verge of being bestowed with sainthood for their saintly behaviour on and off the field, probably believe that they are always the aggrieved party. The Australians' fearless leader Saint Ricky Ponting, who needs to buy a halo and sport that rather than a helmet while batting, is a past master at cribbing and complaining at the slightest opportunity. He probably thinks this is the best way to undermine rival bowlers. Occasionally, when he gets it back, he walks around with an injured air and wonders how the world could ever question or doubt his sainthood.

It is probably a good thing that Sreesanth and Harbhajan have no faith in Australian saints. Their pantheon of saints, Matthew Hayden, Andrew Symonds, Ponting himself have been repeatedly riled, ridiculed and packed off by the duo. Who can forget the manner in which Harbhajan joyfully somersaulted on the field after dismissing Ponting for the umpteenth time in Australia or Sreesanth pantomiming a chariot rider after clobbering South African

Andre Nel for a six?

It is moments like these that enhance the viewing experience for the neo cricket followers. Sure, the Indian duo gets under the skin of the opposition. But they also ensure that the rivals are not in control of their emotions and hence, compel them into coming up with an uncontrolled response.

In fact, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is nobody's fool. He knows exactly how the shenanigans of Sreeshanth and Harbhajan would impact and get on their opponents' nerves. But like any other intelligent skipper, the last thing he would want is to get reprimanded and fined by the referee. Further, repeated transgressions could end up in a suspension from the game. Dhoni, on an earlier occasion, had told Sreesanth to temper his reactions slightly as he did not want to be asked to meet the match referee after every evening's play.

On occasions, Dhoni has publicly pulled up Sreesanth. As skipper, he could not afford to be accused of not stepping in and keeping his players' emotions in check. But one suspects that this was for the public's and the match referee's consumption. Dhoni is too shrewd a captain to miss a trick. He knows that as long as Sreesanth does not cross what Dhoni calls the Lakshman Rekha he will rankle, irritate and upset the opponents with his sledging.

Certainly, the manner in which Sreesanth and Harbhajan target players of fragile temperament shows that there is some method in their antics. They probably are getting the desired reaction from these players and are hence, habitually picking on them. Ponting is a classic example. As the World Cup unfolds, we can be sure that they would have a bigger list of players to bug. Certainly, a lot of thought seems to have gone into their sledging.

In fact, Dhoni's response after the Chennai game against New Zealand was a dead giveaway: 'I was very specific and told him (Sreesanth) that he should not cross some boundaries. He could irritate the opposition as long as he kept it within limits. I'm really happy to let him do whatever he wants to do.' Now, it could not be more explicit than that, could it?

So, whether it is South African skipper Graeme Smith's 'Special Needs Teacher' dealing with his little finger, or Ponting having to put up with the 'loser' tag, there is going to be a lot of sledgingin this World Cup. The only fear is that while others could get away with far worse, Sreesanth and Harbhajan could be marked men for the match referees. Now that's a thought.