India vs South Africa: 'Indians would be called sissies if they refused to play'; Sunil Gavaskar leads backlash as Day 3 is called off

Play was called off on Day 3 of the third and final Test match between India and South Africa at Johannesburg after umpires Ian Gould and Aleem Dar, having had a discussion with match referee Andy Pycroft felt the pitch had become too “dangerous” to continue to play on. [caption id=“attachment_2614764” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Sunil Gavaskar. AFP[/caption] When the players left the field, South Africa had reached a score of 17/1 chasing 241, a target that appeared to be a daunting one on this Wanderers wicket. During the Proteas’ second innings, Dean Elgar twice took blows on his body — first on his wrist and later on his forearm — before a Jasprit Bumrah delivery hit the South African opener on his head. That piece of action forced umpires to make the decision to stop play. However, replays confirmed that the Bumrah delivery hadn’t unexpectedly shot off from good length areas as in previous cases and it was a well-directed bouncer that Elgar failed to deal with. Hence, the call from the umpires, attracted plenty of anguish from Indian fans particularly after they had seen their batsmen battle it out on the very wicket earlier in the day to post a commendable score of 247. Sunil Gavaskar led the backlash with some strong words from the commentary box. when he claimed India would have been termed “sissies” had they refused to bat under similar circumstances. “Despite having the Dravids, the Sachins, had an Indian player been hit and had they asked for abandonment of the match, Indians would have been called sissies,” Gavaskar said on air. Also, Twitterati wasn’t too far behind and made their displeasure felt.