Stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan said Arjuna Ranatunga’s comment stating that this Indian team is a ‘second-string’ team does not affect him or his team. He said that team India are going for a victory against the young Sri Lankan team.
Arjuna Ranatunga had slammed the Sri Lankan cricket board for agreeing to host a ‘second-string’ Indian team for a white ball series and termed it nothing short of an ‘insult.’
“This is a second-string Indian team and their coming here is an insult on our cricket. I blame the current administration for agreeing to play with them due to television marketing needs,” Arjuna Ranatunga had told to the reporters earlier this month.
“India sent their best team to England and sent a weaker side to here. I blame our board for that,” added the 1996 ODI world cup winning captain.
Talking about the same, Dhawan was not bothered by the former Sri Lanka captain's opinions.
“I feel this Sri Lankan team is a young team and they have got good players. If they feel this is a second (string) team, that is their feeling. We will go ahead and play Sri Lanka. It is an international match. We have to seize the opportunity,” said Shikhar Dhawan during an interaction with the media.
In response to Ranatunga, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said that the touring side was a seasoned team.
“Out of the 20-member team India squad, 14 players have represented India across formats or in some form and not a second-string team as claimed,” SLC said.
India takes on Sri Lanka in the first ODI starting on July 18 at 3 pm IST.
(Inputs: India TV)
