MS Dhoni and Michael Clarke credit IPL for bridging gaps – Cricket News Update
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MJ-Clarke-c1978, strongly believe that the Indian Premier League (IPL) has removed differences between cricketers of the two nations, and has brought them closer to each other.
The two captains opined that the IPL is an ideal forum for creating harmony amongst players, and promotes multiculturalism.
These comments were made in reference to the ‘monkeygate’ scandal, which involved the Indian off-spinner http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Andrew-Symonds-c44611. The row erupted when Symonds accused Harbhajan of racially abusing him, by calling him
a http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Holly-Louise-Colvin-c63292. The Indian tour to Australia of 2008 was tarnished by this fracas, which ruined the harmony, and created bad blood between the two nations.
As fate would have it, the IPL franchise http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mumbai-c820 Indians would get these two players together in the same dressing room, as members of the same team.
This is in essence what Clarke and Dhoni were referring to, and they hope that the ongoing series between the two countries can be played in a similarly harmonious manner.
Speaking to the media today, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 said, “The IPL has helped reduce tension between the two teams and, irrespective of what happened in the past, our relationship with Indian players is stronger than ever before.”
He further said, “Both teams love to play tough cricket and we have had some wonderful matches over the years. I am confident that lines won't be crossed, but in case they do, players would have to reckon with harsh punishments.”
Dhoni added, “There's a lot at stake. People look up to us. So we'll try to keep it controversy-free. But still it's important to make it interesting.”
The Indian team are touring Down Under for a 4-match Test series, which started on Boxing Day, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 convincingly won the first Test to take a 1-0 lead in the series, going into the second match at the Sydney Cricket
Ground, starting from January 3rd.
Harbhajan and Symond are not part of the teams, and the two captains are hopeful that the focus will be entirely on the cricket.
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