NEW DELHI, January 3: Kapil Dev today expressed "surprise" at the axing of off-spinner Rajesh Chauhan and said the selectors' action was "unfair" to the off-spinner."They must have proof," Kapil Dev told PTI here today. "Has any umpire called Chauhan (for his action). Is the ICC (International Cricket Council) higher than the umpires? And, do the ICC officials know better than the umpires?" the world's highest Test wicket-taker asked.
Asked about ICC communication to BCCI based on Bob Simpson reporting Chauhan's action, the former India captain fumed: "Who is Simpson? Does he, as an ICC observer, know more about the game than the umpires?"
"I think the ICC is going too far (in advising the Board of Control for Cricket in India to exclude Chauhan from the team) and am sure the advise is not binding on the Indian board."
Asked about the study of Chauhan's action done by him and Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil said: "We asked for slow-motion videos of his action. From what we saw of his action at the (capital's)
National Stadium nets, we were not in a position to pass judgement."
"As long as he is not pronounced guilty, he can't, and shouldn't, be punished," Kapil added.
"ICC DIRECTIVE BINDING ON BOARDS": Chauhan and Kumara Dharmasena were found to have suspect bowling actions and the ICC directive, not to play them till their actions are rectified, was binding on the boards concerned, according to ICC president Jagmohan Dalmiya.
Dalmiya said that two more unnamed bowlers were referred to the nine-member ICC experts panel from the Test playing nations (Kapil is its member from India) which cleared them after studying videotapes of their actions. (When a bowler's action comes up for scrutiny, the expert from his country is kept out, Dalmiya explained).
The ICC chief said the names of Chauhan and Dharmasena were reported to ICC by Simpson.
The apex body for cricket in the world does not punish any cricketer, so it will make available, at its own cost, services of a specialist to help correct their
actions, he said.
At the same time, Dalmiya said, the board concerned will bear all the expenses for sending the bowler to the mutually convenient place.
Till their actions are cleared, the ICC has advised the Indian and Sri Lankan boards not to include Chauhan and Dharmasena in their teams, the ICC president added.
BCCI secretary Jayant Lele said the national selectors dropped Chauhan to prevent any embarrassment to the concerned bowler.
"The ICC letter would have gone everywhere and Chauhan could have been called by an umpire at Dhaka," Lele said in Mumbai, after announcing the team for Dhaka.
"They have sent the video tapes of the Test series against Lanka where he bowled to us. We will be asking Sunil Gavaskar, the BCCI technical committee chairman, and Kapil Dev to have a look at it," Lele added.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
