KOLKATA, Aug 2: For Indian skipper Kapil Dev on Saturday joined former captain Sunil Gavaskar in condeming sledging in cricket, saying matches should be won through performance and not “unfair” means. “You should win on the basis of talent and performance. If you resort to means like sledging to earn a victory, I think that’s unfair,” Kapil told reporters here.

The skipper of the 1983 World Cup winning India side said the game was virtually free of sledging when he and Gavaskar played cricket.

“The odd incident or two may have occurred, but largely the game was sledging-free. Older generation players like me and Gavaskar played the game in a healthier way, in tune with its lofty spirit,” Kapil said.

“I can understand Gavaskar’s sentiments when he expressed his dismay with sledging. It is diffcult for our generation players to accept it. I wholeheartedly support Sunny,” he said.

Referring to Australia, who are now being widely cricticised for resorting to rampant sledging on the ground, Kapil said “if they are such a talented side, why do they need to take recourse to sledging? Their performance should be enough.”

Gavaskar, while delivering the prestigious Collin Cowdrey lecture at MCC on Tuesday, had decried sledging, saying that it was ruining the good name of the game and called for protection to players against unchecked personal abuse.

Without naming Australia, Gavaskar said the “Champions” were setting a wrong example by their intimidatory tactics and “verbal bouncers” on the field.—PPI