Robin Uthappa, a former India cricketer, has attacked the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for allowing Rachin Ravindra to practice at their Chennai academy ahead of the Test series against India.
Notably, Ravindra traveled to the CSK academy ahead of their one-off Test against Afghanistan in Greater Noida to prepare and acclimate to Indian conditions. This preparation also helped him in the three-Test series against India recently.
The practice in Indian conditions worked wonders for the New Zealander as Ravindra smashed 134 and 39* in the first Test in Bengaluru against India, helping New Zealand win their first Test in India since 1988.
Ravindra was named the Player of the Match and while collecting his award, the left-hander revealed how prepping at the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) academy in Chennai helped him get better in Indian conditions.
Recently, in a video, former India and CSK star Robin Uthappa criticized CSK’s move for allowing to practice in their academy saying that a line has to be drawn as the country always comes ahead of the franchise.
"Rachin Ravindra came here and practiced at the CSK Academy. CSK is a beautiful franchise that will always look after its franchise players but a line has to be drawn where the interest of the country comes ahead of your franchise players, especially when he is a foreign player and comes and plays against our country," Uthappa said on his YouTube channel.
Further, Uthappa, who played for CSK in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, stated that the franchise always goes out of its way for its players but should draw a limit somewhere.
"I am not surprised that CSK always goes over and above for their players but somewhere in that kindness, maybe I am not saying the right thing, I absolutely love CSK, but when it comes to the country, there should be a line somewhere where we do not cross that line," he added.
However, Uthappa did laud Ravindra for his brilliant century in the Bengaluru Test.
"On the basis of that preparation, Rachin Ravindra batted brilliantly. One of the best knocks by an overseas player. On that wicket, 134 off 157 balls, it was solid batting. He then showed that he is the future of New Zealand cricket," he concluded.
Ravindra ended up with 256 runs in the three-Test series at an average of 51.20 and played a key role in New Zealand’s historic 3-0 whitewash over India.
Here is the video:
