This is a lesson that should perhaps reverberate across all mediums of the game. Players guilty of covering up injuries in order to feature has become a norm rather than the exception. By suspending Chris Cairns and Dinesh Mongia, the ICL is certainly sending out a strong message.
It was startling to hear that Chris Cairns and Dinesh Mongia was suspended from the present tournament being staged by the ICL in its second year. While Mongia presented a greater dilemma, the mind quickly went back to the uneasy relationship Cairns often shared with the New Zealand Cricket Board and discipline factor being high on the agenda as far as the temperamentally talented all-rounder was concerned.
But the news filtering in the aftermath of the suspensions is that the ICL officials have stated that Cairns failed to disclose an ankle injury he sustained prior to the start of the tournament and Mongia was charged as well for being party to the knowledge and not disclosing it either. One can only wonder how Cairns will react to this treatment and if he is willing to bite the bullet and sit out for the duration of the tournament ignominiously at that. For Mongia, it is a shock because he has been doing reasonably well with bat as well as ball and this now puts him and his team in jeopardy.
Until two days ago, Mongia was an integral member of the Chandigarh Lions led by Cairns. The Lions were hyped as one of the strongest teams of the ICL. This blow will now affect their standings even further, sunk as they are at number six for the present time. South Africa’s Andrew Hall now takes on an arduous task.
Now if only more boards would enforce this policy on an international level, more players would be warming the bench instead of breaking down mid way during a match and thereby, misleading the management, their team mates and their fans who spend big money to watch them in action.
