Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly on Thursday called on match officials to play an active role in containing sledging in international cricket.
"The match referee and the umpires in the middle should interfere a little more to control sledging," Ganguly told the media in Delhi.
Ganguly was in the capital for shooting the first episode of 'Cricket Show' for ESPN-Star Sports, which would be telecast on Friday.
India are likely to face sledging from New Zealand and Australia, who will be facing off the Indians when in a triangular ODI series starting in Chennai next month.
India could face a sterner test when they travel to Australia in November to play a Test series and a triangular one-day tournament.
Ganguly's comments comes at a time when the cricketing world is divided over whether there should be sledging in cricket, considered a gentleman's game.
The topic in tomorrow's 'Cricket
Participating in the show, Ganguly said he did not take permission from BCCI to anchor it and enjoyed his stint in front of the cameras.
"Captains are allowed to write columns, give interviews to electronic and print media and appear in various programmes. There is no harm in anchoring such a programme," he said. "I am here to enjoy myself and there is no pressure on me."
Gavaskar termed Ganguly's move to appear in the programme a 'step forward' saying it would give the Indian captain the platform to discuss important issues.
"This is a big step forward. It allows the captain to express his views on certain matters," he said.
The new assignment also gave Ganguly the distinction of becoming the first national cricket captain to anchor a cricket show on TV.