Rising

The Board of Control for Cricket in India are to request a total ban on sledging by the ICC.

BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah confirmed the board are to raise the issue at next week's International Cricket Council chief executive committee meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

He told BBC Sport: "Sledging is not required in cricket. It's not good for the game.

"Cricket is a gentleman's game, not a contact sport. We don't see why there should be any abusive language at all."

Player behaviour has been in the spotlight in the wake of January's Test in Sydney.

India spinner Harbhajan Singh was initially found guilty of racially abusing Australia's Andrew Symonds, but later cleared.

The Australia players were convinced the spinner directed the word "monkey" at Symonds, but the Harbhajan himself contested he used a Hindi insult, "teri maa ki".

"What is not particularly bad in one country can be very offensive in another," said Shah.

"It's better just to cut out everything that could remotely cause a problem.

"Our board is unanimous on this and I think the ICC will be receptive to our proposal."

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