5 great on-field gestures by Indian cricketers

"Sportsmanship is when people help each other out even if they are competing against each other." - Diver Loudy Wiggins.

Competitive sports is intense, heated and personal, that is why, there are far more instances of unsportsmanlike behaviour like altercations, fines, suspensions, bans than there is a demonstration of generosity and genuine concern for opponents.

However, sportsmanship, in its very essence, is respect for self and others. It encompasses all that which is good in human nature. It is a concrete measure of the understanding and commitment to fair play, ethical behaviour and integrity.

Now, let us look at five instances, where Indian cricketers followed the "golden rule" of sportsmanship – treating others as you wish to be treated and went beyond the game to show compassion to their rivals.

#5 When Gundappa Vishwanath reprieved Bob Taylor

In one of the earliest incidents that set the precedent of fair cricket, the then Indian captain Gundappa Vishwanath gave a new lease of life to England wicket-keeper Bob Taylor and earned many accolades from the cricketing community.

During the historic 'Jubilee Test' in Mumbai in 1980, Taylor was given caught behind by the umpire but Vishwanath thought that the batsman actually didn't nick the ball.

Therefore, the skipper went up to Taylor to enquire and when the batsman told him that he didn’t edge the ball, Vishwanath requested the umpire to reverse his decision.

The recall proved costly for India as England, who would have been 85/6 at that stage, went on to 229 before they lost the next wicket and eventually won the match by 10 wickets.