Maverick or maniac?
Sreesanth's antics in the second one-dayer at Kochi have brought forth reactions:
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
25-Feb-2013
Getty Images
Sreesanth's antics in the second one-dayer at Kochi have brought forth reactions:
The Times of India's Joseph Hoover feels it's time Sreesanth curbed his aggression.
As if this act of brutishness was not enough, Sree again crudely remonstrated, after accepting a return catch from Symonds. Celebration is one thing, behaving disrespectfully is another. Perhaps, Sree wouldn’t care. Playing in front of his home crowd, could have pumped him up. Also, the Aussies, who are masters at sledging, could have baited him, but Sree had no business to do what he did.
S Dinakar has a similar view in the Hindu:
He has had his match fees docked, been spoken to by the umpires, but does not seem to have learnt his lesson. He is so much the better paceman when his mind and body are in harmony. Once Sreesanth loses his cool, he is not the same force as a bowler.
The Melbourne-based Age headlined the match report 'Sreesanth takes on Australia' while the Australian newspaper came down hard on the bowler with 'Sreesanth disturbs the peace'.
R Kaushik, though, makes a pertinent point in Deccan Herald:
The fact of the matter is that holier-than-thou is an easy cloak to wear. As Gilchrist showed when, having seen on the giant screen that umpire Shastri had made a wrong no-ball against James Hopes, he charged down the pitch to forcefully make his point. Determined, of course, to keep the spirit of cricket going.
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is a former assistant editor at Cricinfo