ENG vs IND: Umpires Too Lenient, Time To Penalise Abusive Language From Players Severely

The ugly scenes at Lord's, including one where the 'F' word was used in an audible altercation between the Indian captain Virat Kohli and England pacer James Anderson, has put the spotligh

However, in the name of aggression and win-at-all-costs attitude, which was first initiated by the Australian team, certain unwritten rules related to the spirit of cricket were broken.

Former Australia skipper Steve Waugh's side took it to another level as it tried to make life difficult for the opposition.

The verbal volleys between Aussie Glenn MacGrath and West Indian Ramnaresh Sarwan was a prime example of how abusing someone's family member was becoming acceptable among cricketers.

Though umpires have, time and again, penalised players with level 1 action like they did with Jonny Bairstow in November 2019, during an England-New Zealand T20I, there has to be a strong deterrent and more severe penalty to protect the sanctity of the game.

The ICC needs to take the lead on this.