When Ponting let the crisis happen
"If Australia skipper Ricky Ponting had shown a little more sensitivity, an iota of the maturity that his opposite number from India has shown and perhaps, an understanding of the implications of what he was doing, there may have been no crisis in
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
"If Australia skipper Ricky Ponting had shown a little more sensitivity, an iota of the maturity that his opposite number from India has shown and perhaps, an understanding of the implications of what he was doing, there may have been no crisis in world cricket," writes Kadambari Murali in the Hindustan Times.
Kumble tried to reason with him, repeated that Harbhajan had made no racist remark, something Ponting knew, and no offence was intended.
He said it would be better for everyone concerned if they kept this out of the public domain.
But Ponting wouldn’t listen. Another attempt was made to convince the Aussies to drop the charge of racism, at Sunday night’s hearing, by all the members of the Indian Committee but to no avail.
“Apparently, Ponting was unwilling to see reason,” said a source, adding that Kumble was quite frustrated by the Aussie skipper’s inability to understand the sensitivity of the issue or its ramifications.
“He reminded Ponting, as did others at the hearing, that this went far beyond either of them and far beyond this Test, and the game of cricket.”
Sriram Veera is a former staff writer at ESPNcricinfo