Adam Gilchrist - Autobiography

Autobiography

Gilchrist's autobiography True Colours, published in 2008, was the subject of much controversy. Gilchrist questioned the integrity of leading Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar in relation to the evidence he presented in the Monkeygate dispute, which was about allegations of racism against Harbhajan Singh. The autobiography said that Tendulkar told the first hearing that he could not hear what Harbhajan said to Andrew Symonds; Gilchrist said he was "certain he was telling the truth" because he was "a fair way away". Gilchrist then questioned why Tendulkar then agreed with Harbhajan's claim at the second hearing that the exchange was an obscenity, and concluded that the process was "a joke". He also raised questions over Tendulkar's sportsmanship and said he was "hard to find for a changing-room handshake after we have beaten India".

There was a backlash in India, which forced Gilchrist to clarify his position. Gilchrist later insisted that he did not accuse Tendulkar of lying in his testimony. He also denied calling the Indian a "bad sport" in regards to the handshake issue. Tendulkar responded by saying that "those remarks came from someone who doesn't know me enough. I think he made loose statements...I reminded him that I was the first person to shake hands after the Sydney defeat." The autobiography also blamed the ICC for allowing Sri Lankan cricketer Muralitharan to bowl; Gilchrist believes that ICC changed the throwing law in order to legitimise a bowling action that he regards as illegitimate. The law change was described as "a load of horse crap. That's rubbish." Gilchrist claimed that Muralitharan threw the ball and alleged that the ICC protected him because Sri Lankan cricket authorities portrayed any criticism of the bowler's legitimacy as racism and a witchhunt conducted by whites. In response to these comments, former Sri Lankan captain Marvan Atapattu said that by questioning the credentials of players like Muralitharan and Tendulkar, Gilchrist had done no good to his own reputation.

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