‘Paajji sahi bola hai’- Fans react as Former India opener bashes Australia for not following ‘spirit of the game’

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir has slammed Australia for controversially removing Jonny Bairstow during the second Ashes Test. Jonny Bairstow’s shocking dismissal on Day 4 of the second Ashes Test has sparked outrage. Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey ran out Bairstow when he thought the ball was dead but it wasn’t.

Carey smartly sent the ball back onto the stumps to inflict a run out when he went beyond the crease after letting the ball go believing it was the end of the over. Although Bairstow was given out, the whole ‘spirit of the game’ argument ensued, with many criticizing Australia’s tactics and gaining a wicket in the manner that they did.

Does spirit of the game logic apply to you: Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir tweeted a message to the Australian squad and fans following their win at Lords, “Hey sledgers….does spirit of the game logic apply to you or is it just for Indians?” Following his tweet, fans did not hold back but went back to the Nottingham Test between India and England at Trent Bridge Nottingham in 2011, where a relatively similar situation involving Ian Bell occurred. The former England captain was jaywalking beyond his crease, believing the ball had been struck for a four, when it had not. Eoin Morgan had clipped an Ishant Sharma delivery towards the square leg, where Praveen Kumar seemed to fumble it.

Australia went on to win the second Ashes Test by 43 runs, taking a 2-0 lead in England’s five-match World Test Championship (WTC) series. After the game, England captain Ben Stokes stated that if his team had sought a dismissal in such a manner, he would have withdrawn the appeal. Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal will be remembered for a long time in Ashes history.

It was one of the pivotal moments in the second Test when Bairstow was putting together a sixth-wicket stand with Ben Stokes. If both Stokes and Bairstow stayed they might have built a good partnership and England may have levelled the series in London. The third Test of the Ashes series will begin in Leeds on July 6. It will be intriguing to see whether Australia can go up 3-0.

Here’s how fans reacted: