Rules should be changed after the T20 World Cup, says Karsan Ghavri

03 October, 2012

Kumar Sangakkara was the official skipper of the Sri Lankan team in spite of Mahela Jayawardene being in the starting 11. Later, it was realised that Jayawardene in the fear of being banned for his team's slow over rate in the semi-finals, did not take to the field as captain of the team.

IN A rare turn of events, it was Kumar Sangakkara who walked in for the toss when Sri Lanka clashed in their last super eight encounter against New Zealand in the ongoing T20 World Cup. The original captain, Mahela Jayawardene, was not the captain for the game, as he received a warning for slow over rate, which meant another slow over rate against the Kiwis would lead to his semi-final ban, which the Sri Lankans did not want. Hence, they passed the skipper's baton to Sangakkara.

Former Indian cricketer, Karsan Ghavri says, “There is nothing wrong in it, if it is within the rules of the ICC. But, if it is not within the rules of the ICC, then they should be punished.” But, it has to be understood that the Sri Lankan team manager, Charith Senanayake, looked into the ICC code before taking the decision of making Sangakkara the captain.

This issue definitely brings a larger question into the picture. Can Captains be changed in between the tournaments? There would have been no issues had Mahela Jayawardene been injured or for some other reason not taken the field. But, it was not the case with Mahela playing in the starting 11 and top scoring with 42 runs for Sri Lanka.

The ICC would on all probability look into their code of conduct only after the tournament gets over. Ghavri says, “After the tournament, the rules should be changed (same captain for the entire championship).” Jayawardene is expected to return as the skipper of the Sri Lankan team, when they face Pakistan in the semi-finals of the tournament.

The fielding side has to finish its quota of 20 overs within 80 minutes. Some teams do face problems with it, but one cannot think of such kind of stance - changing the captain taken place in its history. With the balls been thrashed all over the park by batsmen and some team meetings in between a game, it makes life difficult for captains. But, discipline has to be followed in cricket. Ghavri adds, “Other teams are doing it (completing their quota within time), why cannot Sri Lanka do it?