The Harbhajan affair simplified
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
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In the midst of a hurricane, with tensions, tempers and emotions on overdrive, one article - aimed at eight-year-olds - emerges as one of the more balanced pieces about the Sydney-gate affair. Read on in CBBC here.
The Sydney Morning Herald's Matt Wade, reporting from New Delhi, rounds up what the local newspapers have to say about the whole controversy.
Greg Baum, writing in the Age, says its time for both sides to shake hands, grow up and move on.
What to do? Calls for sackings are knee-jerk, the threat to abandon the tour nonsensical. Apart from anything else, the all-powerful television moguls here and in India would not countenance it. The tour will go on, and so will the captains. So law and order it must be.The Deccan Herald's R Kaushik runs through the heated day's events and presents his case.
A clearer picture might emerge by the morrow, when an emergent Working Committee meeting in New Delhi will decide the next action. In the interests of Indian cricket and Indian pride, it has to be strong. And unyielding. Never mind the repercussions.
Steve Waugh, in a column for the Hindu, feels the incident is a case of cultural differences and says he does not brand Ricky Ponting unsporting.
At the end of the day, much of what is happening between the teams springs from an inability to understand each other’s culture. For an Indian, calling someone a monkey is not a terrible insult, and certainly not a racist one.
I saw the footage of what had happened involving Andrew Symonds when the Australians were in India. Most of the spectators were just having some light-hearted banter, and there was no malice in most cases.
The Hindustan Times' Pradeep Magazine writes that jingoism should have no place in fair play, accurately pointing out that no matter how many dollops of jingoistic claptrap the Indian media dishes out, the fact remains that in the end India could not bat for 70 overs to save a Test.
Mathew Varghese is sub-editor (stats) at Cricinfo