Gilchrist says that Tendulkar shirks from a handshake if he ends on the losing side. Describing the dramatic final moments on the final day of the Sydney Test, which India lost narrowly, Gilchrist says: "We went into the Indian changing room and shook hands. Not all their players could be found, which points to another subtle cultural difference. In the Australian mentality, we play it hard and are then quick to shake hands and leave it all on the field. Some of our opponents don’t do it that way. Sachin Tendulkar, for instance, can be hard to find for a changing room handshake after we have beaten India. Harbhajan can also be hard to find."
Gilchrist’s views make it clear that he isn’t a fan of Tendulkar, who has been a hugely admired figure in Australia ever since he first played in the country as a teenager in 1991-92.
Gilchrist not only accuses Tendulkar of being a bad sport, but also goes on to criticise his role in the ’monkeygate’ scandal involving Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds earlier this year in Australia.
He blames Tendulkar for not sticking by his story about the episode. At the first hearing Tendulkar claimed he hadn’t heard what Harbhajan had said and during the second he supported his teammate’s version that he had used a Hindi swear word that sounded similar to monkey.
"Tendulkar, who’d said at the first hearing that he hadn’t been able to hear what Harbhajan had said - and he was a fair way away, up the other end, so I’m certain he was telling the truth - now supported Harbhajan’s version that he hadn’t called Symo a ’monkey’ but instead a Hindi term of abuse that might sound like ’monkey’ to Australian ears," Gilchrist writes.
His charges against Tendulkar are likely to fuel the already acrimonious relations between the two cricketing superpowers. Australia are currently in India playing a four-match Test series an have lost the second Test at Mohali by India 320 runs to trail 0-1 in the series.
A major portion True Colours, an extract of which appears in Friday’s Good Weekend, revolves around India’s 2007-08 tour to Australia which saw one of the most acrimonious on and off the field exchanges between the players of the two teams.
While Harbhajan and Symonds were involved in the monkeygate controversy, the Test match at Sydney which Australia won was marred by charges of gamesmanship and poor umpiring.
The tour was almost on the verge of being called off before better sense prevailed.
He also accuses the Board of Control for Cricket in India of "playing politics" on monkeygate and blames Cricket Australia and the ICC of "caving in" when original charge of racism against Harbhajan was downgraded and his suspension lifted.
Gilchrist’s comments have not been welcomed by the experts in the cricketing world. Former chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar slammed Gilchrist for his comments against Tendulkar and believes that it is just another way of building curiosity ahead of the release of his book. He said, "Gilly’s comment is a marketing strategy to sell his autobiography."
Meanwhile, India’s media manager during the Australian tour — MV Sridhar, who was present at both the hearings of the name calling incident said that Gilly’s comments are uncalled for. He added, "Why do you have to mention words in the middle of the series. This comment is highly uncalled for and I think this is quiet sad that such comments are being made."
Australian Journalist Jon Pierik is of the opinion that Gilly’s comment about Tendulkar might inflame tensions between the two sides. He said, "Sachin is regarded as a great man in the cricketing world and since Gilly does not play anymore, not much of an action will be taken. The issue may not be as explosive as its made to be."
Infact one of the witness of the name calling row, Matthew Hayden has said that everyone involved in that incident has moved on and has gone onto praise Harbhajan Singh saying that the off-spinner is a true star in terms of spirit of the game. He said, "I admire Harbhajan Singh and the way he has played in this series. It has been an absolute pleasure to watch him play and has been a great challenge for the batsmen. Everyone has however, moved on from the last summer." (inputs from IBNLive)
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