No doubt, Australian captain Steve Smith is an asset for the game of cricket. But when he plays party to cheating or breaches the ICC’s Code of Conduct, you are put in a state of a conundrum over Smith. So does cricket require a Steve Smith? Surely the fans will stand divided over this one. Cameron Bancroft was caught ball tampering during the 3rd Test against South Africa, which he later admitted. In the press conference he confessed to his guilt, but what was more startling was the fact that Smith and the top leadership of Cricket Australia were in cahoots with this idea. Smith goes on to say that they had discussed it during the lunch break. That takes audacity to own up.
ALSO READ: Ball Tampering Row: Cricketers, Fans Want Stringent Action Against Steve Smith, Cameron Bancroft!
Meanwhile, following this scandal, the Prime Minister of Australia has called for the sacking of Smith. So will he step down or won’t he? Here’s a list of reasons why cricket would be better without Steve Smith:
Wrong Timing:
The timing is critical, this comes at a time when the world cricket is facing a lack of trust deficit from its fans. It also comes at a time, when world cricket is pointing fingers at the big three countries India, Australia and England. As these countries are known to work in tandem to make the bulk of profit out of the game, forgetting the principles of the game would be set a bad precedent.
Serial offender:
Smith is no stranger to such petty cheating, remember him asking for DRS after consulting the dressing room, which is not in accordance with the laws of the game. Smith has in a way encouraged this sort of game, anything-for-a-win-culture.
“Today was a big mistake on my behalf and on the leadership group’s behalf” – Steve Smith #SAvAUS pic.twitter.com/VVIsSnJWsl
— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) March 24, 2018
Zero Tolerance To Set The Precedence Straight:
It is time one feels ICC takes the zero-tolerance policy route to set an example for the future. If that is not done, people will lose faith in ICC as well, which is already happening. A ban here and there will not help, a life ban will most certainly do.
Cricket was, is and will never be a gentleman’s game, that is also the worst myth about the game.
