Mahendra Singh Dhoni is getting the applause but it was actually Sachin Tendulkar's intervention that led to Ian Bell's reinstatement after his bizarre run out in the just-concluded India-England second Test, a media report has claimed.
God of cricket Sachin Tendulkar has emerged as the key figure behind India’s dramatic change of heart that led to them recalling Ian Bell after controversially running him out.
‘Dhoni was asked three times on the field whether he was appealing and each time he said yes,’ the source told Sportsmail.
‘Then when Flower and Strauss went to see Dhoni and Fletcher they said their captain insisted the decision would stand. Tendulkar was the voice in the dressing room that got Bell reinstated.’
It is no surprise that one of the greatest players to ever grace the game would be such an influential figure in such a big decision and would be aware of the implications of the run-out standing.
The atmosphere between the teams would have been tense for the rest of the summer while the sometimes fraught relationship between the two countries’ boards would have been further stretched.
Tendulkar is the most influential person in Indian cricket and it is widely believed that it is his objections to the decision-review system that has led to India refusing to allow Hawk-Eye to play a part in the decision-making process.
He will also have remembered that England returned to India after the terrorist attacks on his native Mumbai in 2008 to complete a tour that saw the 38-year-old score an emotional century in an Indian victory in Chennai.
Once Tendulkar had spoken Dhoni listened and a decision that — according to the letter of the law — was perfectly fair was swiftly overturned. It was also one that was quickly accepted by the rest of the India side who hold their illustrious team-mate in such high regard.
The England team quickly emerged on their balcony to applaud the Indians as Bell ran out after tea.
By then they knew that it was Sachin Tendulkar they were applauding.
Source : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-2021311/How-spirit-Sachin-Tendulkar-gave-Ian-Bell-reprieve-run-out.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
