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    NEW DELHI, India -- Top Indian cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar joined their country's media on Tuesday in criticizing Australian players following incidents after the Champions Trophy final. Ricky Ponting's men were taken to task for pushing Indian cricket chief Sharad Pawar off the presentation stage after Australia's eight-wicket win over the West Indies in Sunday's final in Mumbai. Ponting, visibly impatient after the long presentation ceremony, gestured towards Pawar with his forefinger, asking him to quickly give away the trophy which Australia had won for the first time in five tournaments. Newspapers on Tuesday displayed pictures of Australian batsman Damien Martyn pushing Pawar with his right hand, urging him to get off the stage so that the team could pose with the trophy. The picture in the Indian Express came under the headline: "This is how champions behave when they get the trophy." The Times of India added: "They are supposed to be aggressive, even rude on the field. On Sunday, Australia showed they are not exactly polite off it too." Former India captain Gavaskar, who was also present on the stage, said he was "hurt" by the incident and was "not amused" when another Australian player greeted Pawar "hiya buddy." Gavaskar told the Mumbai-based Mid-Day newspaper.: "I am not amused by one of the Australian players who said 'hiya buddy' when he went up to receive his medallion from Mr Pawar. "Just receive it quietly. You are not in your country. In India, we respect our elders. "Certain decorum has to be maintained, you have to show respect. Would they have done such a thing to their prime minister?" said Gavaskar. Current superstar Tendulkar, who usually prefers to stay silent on controversial matters, also took a swipe at the Australians. Uncalled for"I was not watching the proceedings but from what I heard, it was unpleasant and uncalled for," he said at a sponsors' function in Mumbai. "Firstly, it should never have happened. It's important to show respect to a person who is so dear to the cricketers and is involved with cricket. "Such incidents should be avoided." India's chief cricket selector Dilip Vengsarkar added: "You expect such behavior from uneducated people. If they wanted to pose for photographs, they could have politely requested him. This is appalling." Indian cricket board secretary Niranjan Shah described the incident as "unintentional," but added: "Anyway, you know how players are once they get on the cricket field. They seem to leave good sense behind." Pawar, a political heavyweight and federal agriculture minister, laughed off the incident. "It was a small thing, a stupid thing," Pawar was quoted as saying in the Hindustan Times. "I don't want to react." The Australians left for home Monday to prepare for the Ashes Tests against England, starting on November 23. |
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Pawar hands over the Champions Trophy to Australian captain Ponting.
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