Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra doesn't agree with former Sri Lanka World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga's remarks on the Shikhar Dhawan-led Indian cricket team.
India is touring Sri Lanka for a limited-overs series and Ranatunga called the selected team a ‘second-string’ side, saying that it's an insult to their cricket. Chopra, responding to the comments, clarified that India might be missing star players like Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rohit Sharma, but the team still has a lot of experience.
“It is absolutely right that it is not the main team, the likes of Bumrah, Shami, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja are not there. But is it really like a B-grade team?”, he said on his YouTube channel.
India is scheduled to play 3 ODIs and as many T20Is in Sri Lanka from July 13. They have the likes of Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Sanju Samson in the team along with a few new faces.
“India's probable ODI XI has played 471 ODIs in total, of course, this is not the first team. When Sri Lanka picks the team, it will be interesting to see how many matches in all they have played. When you try to match experience to experience, it will be a very exciting exercise,” he added.
Chopra also pointed out the struggle of Sri Lankan cricket, while adding that the newer cricketing nation Afghanistan have improved lately. Sri Lanka will be playing qualifiers for the 2021 T20 World Cup.
“Sri Lanka will have to look inwards as well. Let’s be honest, Afghanistan doesn’t have to play the World T20 qualifiers, you have to. This is a reality. The truth is that Sri Lankan cricket is really struggling at the moment, even if you look at the England numbers now,” Chopra said.
“There is a possibility they may not qualify for the T20 World Cup, that they do not come in the main draw at all. You may not be there in the Super 12. That is also a reality and Afghanistan is already there,” he added.
