Sydney, Nov 7 : India must use its growing power in world cricket to keep the game on the right path rather than becoming obsessed with short-term issues like code-of-conduct hearings, Cricket Australia's chief executive James Sutherland has said.

He said there was little the rest of the cricketing world could do to match India's power, so Indian administrators needed to take greater responsibility for the game's welfare.

Expressing his disappointment at this latest display of brinkmanship, Sutherland said he preferred to see India take a leadership role for the good of the game, rather than repeatedly using its might in such a potentially destructive way.

"They tend to look at these ... code-of-conduct issues in a different light. We have seen in the last five years probably at least four times where they've tried some sort of approach to appeal, and in cases where the appeal hasn't been successful they've tried to take it to another level," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted him, as saying.

"Ideally we would like to see India continue to take a leadership role in continuing to help the game to be better, rather than taking these sorts of issues that we're talking about with Gambhir down the wrong path," Sutherland added.

While not prepared to reveal the strategy Australia would have adopted had the suspended Gambhir's name appeared on the Test team sheet in Nagpur, Sutherland said it was the International Cricket Council's responsibility through its umpires and match referee to ensure such a situation did not arise.

Asked if he felt India - which generates about 70 per cent of world cricket's revenue - had too much power, Sutherland said some would always mount that argument.

"I think they have in recent times come to realise that they can influence more than perhaps they have done in the past. With that ability to influence obviously comes power, with wealth comes responsibility."

ANI