“That is not cricket, according to me” - Sunil Gavaskar slams England bowlers for their body-line tactics at injured Rishabh Pant

Former Indian captain and commentator Sunil Gavaskar has slammed the England cricket team for their body-line tactics at the injured Indian keeper-batter Rishabh Pant on the third day’s play of the ongoing Lord’s Test.

Pant, who came out to bat despite injuring his finger on his left hand, went on to score 74 runs in 112 balls with eight fours and two sixes to keep India in a decent position. He stitched a 141-run partnership for the fourth wicket with KL Rahul.

Moving into the details, Pant was hit multiple times on his left hand by English skipper Ben Stokes, who was bowling from around the wicket to target his left shoulder area with his short lengths. 

Interestingly, English bowlers came up with the bouncer strategy for Pant, who was scoring at an exceptional strike rate on the third day’s play. Moreover, Stokes had kept a total of six fielders on the leg-side, hoping to draw an edge from Pant, which didn’t go down well with Gavaskar.

"Fifty-six percent of the balls bowled today have been short. They have four fielders on the boundary waiting for the bouncer. That is not cricket, according to me. When the West Indies were bowling short, they brought in a rule for only two bouncers per over. That was to restrict the strength of the West Indies," Gavaskar said in commentary on Day 3.

"Now we are seeing bouncers being bowled. Look at the field that has been arranged. This is not cricket. There should not be more than six fielders on the leg side. If Sourav Ganguly, who is the chairman of the ICC Men's Cricket Committee, is watching this, please make sure that next time not more than six fielders can be kept on the leg side," he added.

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