Ban will make Gambhir more sensible: Afridi

Lahore, Nov 6 (UNI) As India takes on the Aussies in the fourth and final Test in Nagpur today without in-form opener Gautam Gambhir, seasoned all-rounder Shahid Afridi feels that the one-match ban imposed on the swashbuckling batsman will make him more sensible and cool-headed in the future.

The Indian opener, who was in terrific form in the current series, has been banned for the last Test in Nagpur after match referee Chris Broad and ICC adjudicator Justice Albie Sachs found him guilty of barging into Australian all-rounder Shane Watson during the third Test in New Delhi.

Sachs has also rejected an appeal filed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) against the match referee's decision and upheld the ban on Gambhir.

However, recalling that he was also been elbowed by Gambhir during a One-day International match against Pakistan at Kanpur in November last year, Afridi said the left-hander made a mistake by repeating the same thing against Watson.

''He did a similar thing with me while taking a run while I was bowling and we had exchanged a few words with each other.

''After running into me he turned around and made some comments and I also replied back. But the match referee let us off with fines and afterwards we sorted things out and everything cooled down,'' the 28-year-old added.

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