Opinions On Modern-day Cricket
See also: throwing (cricket)Bedi has expressed strong opinions on many aspects of modern day cricket and has been described as "rarely afraid to speak his mind". In particular, he is a vehement critic of the bowling action of Muttiah Muralitharan ("if Murali doesn't chuck, then show me how to bowl" ) which he bluntly refers to as cheating and likens to a javelin throw and more recently, shot putting, saying that Muralitharan "will complete 1000 Test wickets but they would count as mere run-outs in my eyes". He takes a very dim view of chucking, which he calls "a bigger threat than bribing and betting" and claimed in 2004 that many bowlers on the subcontinent chuck, calling Muralitharan a "Sri Lankan bandit closing in on a dream artist called Shane Warne". He has stated, though, that he has nothing personal against Muralitharan, although Muralitharan has threatened to sue him. Recently he has echoed the same criticisms against his countryman, Harbhajan Singh. Regarding suspect actions in cricket, he said "When a bowler is chucking, he's referred to panels and the home cricket board. Why not do the same for a wide or no-ball, then?". He has accused one-day cricket, modern cricket bats and small grounds of causing a decline in classical spin bowling in India.
He has also attacked Sunil Gavaskar, calling him "a destructive influence". He said to Australian coach John Buchanan "Tell us, John, have you made this Australian team great, or have they made you?"
More recently, Bedi has referred to T20 cricket as "the most vulgar expression of cricket".
Read more about this topic: Bishan Singh Bedi
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