I know Mike Denness and I can assure you that he is not a racist. The Indian team had it coming. The information I have is that Denness had warned them, through the team management, for aggressive and excessive appealing and when he saw his warnings go unheeded and no improvement in their behaviour after the first Test, he was forced into taking action. It's an indictment of the Indian captain, but what can you expect from a man whose behaviour himself has been far from exemplary over the years? I am a great admirer of Sachin Tendulkar and he has been a model of excellence in his play and behaviour. But the game does not judge people on track record. The camera does not lie and what Sachin has done is unpardonable. Even Sunil [Gavaskar] said that Sachin should have taken the ball to the umpire for cleaning any dirt that may have been on it. I think Sachin has blotted an otherwise spotless career. I honestly do.

We Indians are an emotional lot. We have to realise that we have been getting away with this kind of appealing for a long time. What can be said in the team's favour is that, maybe, Denness may have pulled the trigger a bit too hard to target half the team.

And what is Jagmohan Damiya talking about pulling the team out of the series? I have been a BCCI president and no president has got the authority to take such irrational decisions. He has no credibility left in the eyes of international cricket and he is being seen as a schemer and manipulator. Maybe, if a [AC] Muthiah had made such a strong statement, the ICC would have taken notice. But not Dalmiya. I was talking to ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed the other day and he was wondering how a man who had been at the helm of ICC could make such demands when he knows the rules fully well. Dalmiya wants the referee removed today; tomorrow he will ask for an umpire to be replaced for giving six lbws against India.

I think we have pampered the boys enough. It's a sad day for Indian cricket and hopefully we have learnt our lessons.

Rajsingh Dungarpur, a former president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and selection-committee chairman, was speaking to H Natarajan.

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