Aakash Chopra has admitted that Team India was hesitant to sledge West Indies batting star Brian Lara. He revealed that on a visit to the West Indies, India’s team met and decided not to try to sledge the swashbuckling hitter.
The former opening batter made the statements on the JioHotstar show ‘Cheeky Singles’. He stated that the Indian players had agreed that no one would confront Lara since it could cost them money.
The cricketer-turned-commentator explained:
“The sledging was not pre-planned, but I know of an incident where the plan was that you would not sledge him, us se panga nahi lene ka hai (We would not mess with him). It was during India’s tour of the West Indies, and Brian Lara had that aura.
Aakash Chopra
“It was decided in that Indian team meeting that we would leave him alone, nobody would say anything to him, and he would get out by himself when it had to happen. But if you rile him up, then sawaari apne samaan ki khud hi zimmedar hai (You are responsible for your actions).”
Aakash Chopra
Meanwhile, Brian Lara had a good test record versus India. He scored 1,002 runs over 29 innings, at an average of 34.55. In ODIs against the Men in Blue, the southpaw averaged 32.62 and scored 1,142 runs in 40 innings.
While Chopra claimed that India did not want to provoke Lara, he also revealed an incident in which he was sledged by a hard-hitting left-handed batter.
‘Totally Unprovoked’ – Aakash Chopra Recalls Being Sledged by Australian Legend
During the same show, Aakash Chopra revealed that he was previously sledged by former Australian opener Matthew Hayden. Interestingly, Chopra was not even in India’s playing XI when the event occurred.
Chopra recounted how Hayden had a go at him when he came on the field as a substitute for a few overs. The 47-year-old explained:
“I was once sledged by Matthew Hayden. I was not even playing that match, and I was like, ‘Mujhe kyu kar raha hai bhai?’ (Why was he doing that to me?) I was there just to field. I thought, it’s your pitch, you just bat. I was supposed to field for a while and leave. Why did he sledge me? But that was an Australian thing to do. I hadn’t said anything; it was totally unprovoked.”
Aakash Chopra
Worthy of note is that, Hayden had a dominant streak over India in his career. He has amassed 1888 runs in 35 Test innings in a dazzling average of 59.00. The batter also performed well against the opposition in ODIs where he got 1,450 runs in 28 innings with an average of 53.70.
