Yellow, Green and Red Cards in Cricket

There was an age when cricket was known as game of gentlemen. It was game of discipline and intellectuality. Players were strict to discipline and traditional spirit of cricket.  But due to prevailed commercialism, cricket is no more game of gentlemen. On one side, players prefer to use every legal and most of the time illegal methods to win the matches. And on the other side some players attempt to fix the matches for money. In some cases player are involved in pressurizing umpires, ball tempering, stepping on pitch and slagging for illegally wining the matches. And in some other cases players are involved in loosing the match through matching fixing and spot fixing for earning the money. All these facts make us to think that the condition of cricket is now no more in traditional spirit.

The controversies of Javed Miadad and Kiran Moray, Harbhajan Sing and Andrew Symonds are clear examples of indiscipline. The worst cases of match fixing of Azhar Ud Din, Jadeja, Parbhakar, Hansi Cronji, Harshell Gibs, Marlon Samule, Shane Warn, Mark Waugh,  Salman Butt, Amir and Asif are clear evidence of corruption in cricket.

The current procedure of punishment of ICC is not working because most of the time financially strong boards succeeded to provide safe guard to their players. In case of Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan Sing, BCCI used its strong financial position and make the tribunal to clear Harbhajan Sing from all the allegations even in presence of all evidences against Harbhajan Sing. Therefore, wobbly circumstance of cricket demands changes in laws for maintaining discipline and dignity of cricket on the field.

After recent Indian Captain Dhoni and umpire Daryl Harper controversy cricket experts are thinking regarding introduction of punishment cards (Yellow, Green, Red) like football and hockey for maintaining discipline.  

To me this would be a very positive step because by this procedure umpire will be able to award punishment to players before intervention of their boards. Therefore, players will be more careful keeping in mind punishment from umpire on the spot.