India, Feb. 21 -- This column is not about cricket. It's about the behaviour of the Indian cricket team. More specifically, it's about grace on the games field, etiquette and the decent and proper behaviour expected of sportsmen. And it's prompted by the decision of our cricket team not to shake hands with their Pakistani opponents in Colombo last Sunday.

Frankly, that wasn't cricket. Indeed, that phrase sums up the point I want to make.

Cricket, they say, is a gentleman's game. It follows that there is a certain decorum that should be observed. Shaking hands with your opponents is part of the spirit of cricket. Not to do so flouts it.

There is an important point to remember about sport. The opposing side are not your adversaries. They...