Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has opined that fake fielding should be considered as part and parcel of the game. The legendary batter has stated that the fake fielding laws of the ICC should be scrapped, and that fake fielding should be considered as a type of art to deceive batters running between the wickets.
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Gavaskar expressed his views on fake fielding in a column for Sportstar. He wrote, “The other contentious one is that of fake fielding. If cricket is a game of deception where the bowlers are trying to get the batsmen out with deception and batsmen too are trying to outsmart the bowlers by taking different guards and moving from side to side to deceive the bowler into bowling where they can hit him, then what’s wrong with a fielder faking he has got the ball in his hands when he actually doesn’t have it. This should be considered as part of the deception that the game has.”
ICC has clear laws pertaining to fake fielding.
According to ICC’s Law 41.5, “It is unfair for any fielder wilfully to attempt, by word or action, to distract, deceive or obstruct either batsman after the striker has received the ball.” ICC laws also state that it is for either one of the umpires to decide whether any distraction, deception or obstruction is wilful or not.
Laws of fake fielding have grabbed the headlines in recent days due to an incident that occurred during the Super 12 match between India and Bangladesh.
In the seventh over of Bangladesh’s chase at Adelaide Oval, Virat Kohli was spotted feigning a throw at the non-striker’s end. However, the umpires did not notice Kohli’s actions on the field.
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Bangladesh went on to lose the crucial match by five runs and were left on the brink of being eliminated from the tournament. A major controversy erupted when wicket-keeper batter Nurul Hasan criticized the umpires for missing Kohli’s fake fielding. He also suggested that Bangladesh should have been awarded five penalty runs. Team India have now qualified for the semi-finals. Rohit Sharma and Co will take on England in the blockbuster semi-final in Adelaide on November 10.
The final of the T20 World Cup is slated to be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on November 13.
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