New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) Former India captain Anil Kumble feels that Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s decision to call back England batsman Ian Bell after he was adjudged run out during the second Test was the correct one in the circumstances.
Bell, who struck a delightful 159 in England’s second innings, was declared out in a bizarre fashion at the stroke of tea on the third day of play. Bell started walking back to the dressing room thinking that his batting partner Eoin Morgan had hit a four on the leg sie.
But the fielder pulled the ball back in time and threw it to Dhoni, who whipped off the bails and appealed for a run out. In the end, Bell was given out as the ball was still in play when he started to walk back.
Kumble, reacting to the Indian team’s decision to reverse the dismissal, said the right step was taken in the end.
‘Mahendra Singh Dhoni had around 20 minutes to decide on the decision that was taken. If you notice during the break in the studio, Alan Wilkins (commentator) confirmed that the umpires had asked Dhoni whether he would take back the decision and Dhoni had said no. So when he went back during tea, Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss walked up to the Indian coach requesting them to take back the decision and which they did after consulting the team which, in hindsight, I think was a very good decision,’ Kumble was quoted as saying by CNN-IBN.
Kumble said he was proud of the team for showing the spirit of the game.
‘I think at the end of it you are playing a sport and you have to at some point take a call on whether the game is bigger than an individual and I think that is what Dhoni did today and I am really proud of the team for playing the game in the right spirit. Although they took 20 minutes to take the decision and the break did help because had the game continued Ian Bell would not have done what he did.’
