India withdraw Hogg complaint

The Australian spinner is free to play in third test.

Hogg

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Brad Hogg: Free to play [GALLO/GETTY] 

India’s cricket team has withdrawn a complaint against Australian spinner Brad Hogg for making an offensive remark against two players during the second cricket test in Sydney.

Indian captain Anil Kumble announced the dropping of the charge following talks between he and Australian captain Ricky Ponting, leaving Hogg eligible to play in the third test at the WACA Ground starting Wednesday.

Hogg had been charged with allegedly referring to Kumble and Mahendra Singh Dhoni as “bastards” in Sydney.

The rival captains met in the presence of International Cricket Council chief match referee Ranjan Madugalle, who was called in to mediate, and agreed that both sides would play with renewed respect for each other.

“From what happened with Ricky and I, we had a discussion with Ranjan and after that it was important that the game of cricket moved on,” Kumble said.

“Cricket is larger than the individual and it was important that we forgot about what happened in Sydney as one of those bad moments and that it was time to move on. We decided as a team that we withdraw the charge made against Brad Hogg.”

Ponting, Kumble and Madugalle met for about an hour before they shook hands and vowed that both sides would raise their on-field behavior standards.

“Both captains have agreed that it’s their responsibility to move the game forward and the events of the last week are something that they’d like to forget,” Madugalle said.

“As leaders they need to ensure that the team plays the game in its correct spirit and, importantly, with respect for one another.”

Madugalle, a former Sri Lanka test batsman, said there were no issues left outstanding from the Sydney test, where the controversies included Kumble questioning Australia’s sportsmanship, racial abuse cases, several contentious catches and complaints over poor umpiring.

India’s Harbhajan Singh was suspended for three matches after being found guilty of racially abusing Andrew Symonds in Sydney, calling him a “monkey”.

India has appealed against Harbhajan’s suspension, but the ICC has not set a date for that hearing.

The tourists had threatened to cancel the tour pending the outcome, but has since agreed to continue regardless of the appeal finding.

Source: News Agencies