Ex-India Star Exposes 'Hypocrisy' After 4th Ashes Test Ends Within 2 Days In Melbourne
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra highlighted what he called "hypocrisy" after the fourth Ashes Test match between Australia and England lasted just two days.
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra highlighted what he called "hypocrisy" after the fourth Ashes Test match between Australia and England lasted just two days. Chopra pointed out that English and Australian cricketers are often diplomatic when speaking about one another, but he added that if such an incident had happened on an Indian pitch, the narrative would be entirely different. In the recent past, Indian pitches have faced significant criticism; however, Chopra noted that although the Ashes match ended in two days, both teams avoided criticizing the surface, shifting the blame to the batters instead.
"I am talking about the hypocrisy. The match ended in two days in Perth, and the ICC rates it a very good surface. The entire world says the pitch was good and that the batters' technique has declined. Then the same thing happened in Melbourne; the match ended in two days. There, too, they say the pitch was good-perhaps with slightly more help-but that the batters' technique has simply worsened," he said.
"Ben Stokes spoke very diplomatically because these guys are very diplomatic when talking about each other. He said it was favoring one skill more than others. If it had been a rank turner in India, they would have called it the 'death of Test cricket' and questioned the pitch. There, it is also just a case of the surface helping the spin-bowling skill a little more," he added.
Chopra also took aim at the English media, which termed it the "death of Test cricket" when the Ahmedabad Test between India and England ended in two days. He noted that similar criticism was missing after the two-day Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
"When the match ended in Ahmedabad in two days, a BBC report called it the 'death of Test cricket.' Here, they say it's actually not bad and that two-day Test matches are also great. Hypocrisy much? One standard there and something else here," Chopra observed.
England Cricket Team
Australia Cricket Team