'Totally uncivilised', BCCI chief Sharad Pawar [Images] said of the incident during the Champions' Trophy prize-distribution ceremony involving Ricky Ponting [Images] and the victorious Australian team.

'Totally uncivilised' could apply, too, to another recent incident, in which Pakistan's Shoaib Akthar reportedly slapped coach Bob Woolmer [Images].

'Totally uncivilized' could equally apply to Zaheer Khan [Images], who per Sunil Gavaskar [Images] had 'misbehaved' with then coach John Wright [Images] -- an incident, Gavaskar said, that prompted Wright to decide not to renew his contract.

Player misbehavior on the field has increasingly become the norm; words like 'gamesmanship' and 'aggression' have been used to explain them away. The Ponting, Akthar, Khan incidents and others of like nature merit the question: Is indiscipline growing, is it spreading from the field of play to outside the boundary ropes?

And if yes, is it just a spill over of on-field exuberance and thus to be taken lightly, in a boys will be boys spirit? Or is it a worrying symptom of the greater disease of indiscipline? Should such incidents draw salutary punishments from the respective boards? Tell us what you think.