A Young Indian Team Showed How To Silence The Hosts - Aakash Chopra On Arjuna Ranatunga's 'Second-String' Comment

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra said the Indian team took Arjuna Ranatunga’s ‘second-string’ comment too seriously as the visitors thumped Sri Lanka in Colombo by 7 wickets in the first ODI.

The 1996 World Cup-winning former Sri Lankan captain, ahead of the series, had expressed displeasure at BCCI for sending a ‘second-string’ and that it was an insult to the SLC.

However, now he is facing the heat as the ‘second-string’ Indian side blasted Sri Lanka on Sunday to chase down 263 with 13 overs to spare.

Prithvi Shaw (43 off 24), Ishan Kishan (59 off 42), and Suryakumar Yadav (31* off 20) batted around skipper Shikhar Dhawan (86 off 95) to complete a dominating chase. Aakash Chopra remains in awe of the way white-ball cricket has moved forward and the Indian youngsters have so nicely adjusted to the new norm.

“Did you take it to heart? Arjuna Ranatunga had said that a second-string team had been sent and that it was an insult to them. 262 runs are not that few that you win the match like this by seven wickets and 15 overs are left,” Aakash Chopra said in his YouTube video.

“The young Indian team showed how to silence the hosts. The atmosphere has changed a little. The whole way of demolishing, absolutely annihilating the opposition, destructive.

“The opposing team won the toss and in the mid-innings we thought 262 runs are not less. But such explosive and amazing batting. Also because this was totally not my style of batting. The way I used to play, I used to wake up if I batted like that even in my dreams,” Aakash Chopra added.

We don’t need to answer anybody, who says what are their thoughts: Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav, who had a happy outing in Colombo picking up a couple of crucial wickets, in reply to Ranatunga, said that the team is not focussing a bit on anyone’s comments; instead, they are only thinking of their jobs: to play cricket and win matches.

“We don’t need to answer anybody, we just need to focus on our jobs. We have come here to play cricket. We’re really lucky that we’re getting to play cricket in this situation. Our focus is on our team and on how we can perform well in six matches, because we have a lot of youngsters.

“Definitely, we’ll see every match in the same way, that how can we win it for the team. That’s our motto. Other than that, who says what are their thoughts. We should focus on ourselves and enjoy our cricket,” Kuldeep said.

Also Read: Very Happy That After A Long Time Yuzvendra Chahal And I Got To Play Together – Kuldeep Yadav