Sachin Tendulkar says ball-tampering incident unfortunate but right decisions taken

Courtesy: PTI

New Delhi: India's greatest batsman Sachin Tendulkar has given his opinion on the ball-tampering incident, an event that rocked international cricket. Former Australian skipper Steve Smith, vice-skipper David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were directly involved in the act of ball-tampering and were caught using a tape to artificially change the condition of the ball. 

Cricket Australia on Wednesday banned the trio, one-year ban for Smith and Warner, while Bancroft will be out for nine months.

Tendulkar took to Twitter maintaining that cricket has been a gentleman's game and need to be played in the purest form. He also opined that the incident itself has been unfortunate, one that has tarnished its image, but the right decisions have been taken to uphold the game's integrity. He said while winning is important to every team but the match should be won in a fair manner. 

Cricket has been known as a gentleman's game. It's a game that I believe should be played in the purest form. Whatever has happened is unfortunate but the right decision has been taken to uphold the integrity of the game. Winning is important but the way you win is more important

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) March 28, 2018

Tendulkar too had a brush with a ball-tampering row back in 2001 when he was caught tampering with the seam of the ball during the second Test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth. Match Referee Mike Denness later, informed India that both Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly will be serving a one-match ban, which in Tendulkar's case was fortunately suspended.