Cricket is called a gentleman’s game but most of the time the players, especially batters, don’t follow the same spirit embodying the game. At times, though, a few incidents have reinforced that cricket is indeed a game involving distinguished personalities. The world of cricket is replete with instances where players have been more than honest in their conduct by resigning to their fates without any nudge from the officiating umpires. Today, we will be talking about such instances where batters have walked back to the pavilions at critical junctures of matches without waiting for the umpire to raise the finger.
Fakhar Zaman (Pakistan/ongoing Asia Cup V/S India)
In the recent thrill-a-minute encounter involving the arch-rivals India and Pakistan, a batter from the latter team took a bold move. In the fifth over of the match when Avesh Khan bowled a bouncer to Pakistan’s premier batsman Fakhar Zaman the latter could only edge it to the keeper. However, no nick was heard and only the bowler appealed casually with the umpire remaining unmoved. But Fakhar decided to walk back to the pavilion without waiting for the customary signal from the umpire at a crucial moment in the game. And it goes without saying that things could have been different had the Pak batsman followed the herd mentality in cricket. Befittingly, he received a lot of praise for his sportsmanship.
Virat Kohli (India/ 2019 ODI World Cup V/S Pakistan)
The then Team India captain Virat Kohli also took a brave step at a critical time in the high-octane World Cup encounter in 2019. Batting on a well-crafted 77 with India all set for a big total, a well-directed bouncer from Mohammed Amir got the better of Kohli and sailed past his bat to the keeper. No one appealed except for the bowler, and the umpire was not convinced as the edge was not apparent. However, Kohli walked back to the pavilion as he misconstrued the creaking sound of his bat to the ball nicking his willow. Again, the former captain earned a lot of praise for the gesture but was also brutally trolled on Twitter for the same.
Adam Gilchrist (Australia/ 2003 ODI World Cup V/S Sri Lanka)
The former wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist was a firm believer of the theory that if batters have nicked the ball then they should walk without any hesitation and he also used to castigate the rival batsmen for not doing the same. Keeping with the tradition, the Aussie left-hander in a semi-final encounter against Sri Lanka in the 2003 World Cup walked voluntarily after he could not execute a sweep shot against the spin of Aravinda De Silva with the ball going neatly into the hands of the keeper. The entire Sri Lankan players appealed but the on-field umpire Rudy Koertzen did not think that there was an edge involved. Much to the surprise of the spectators and delight of the Lankan players, Gilchrist made his way back into the Oz dressing room. Though he earned praises for the act from several quarters, the then Aussie captain Ricky Ponting was not amused and confessed later on that he would not encourage such a trait among his players.
