Indian Team Was Afraid To 'Sledge' This Cricket Great, Ex Star Makes Big Claim

Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra has revealed that the Indian team was afraid to sledge West Indies great Brian Lara. Speaking on JioHotstar, Chopra recalled that during a tour of the West Indies, the Indian team pre-planned in their meeting that they won't go after Lara. "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," recalled 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)," he added.

Chopra also recalled an incident when he was sledged by former Australia batter Matthew Hayden, who had a go at him when he came to the field as a substitute for a few overs.

"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," said Chopra.

Lara, who retired in 2008, holds the world record scores in Test cricket (400 not out), first-class cricket (501 not out) and the most runs in a test match over (28). He scored 34 centuries in 131 tests.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team West Indies Cricket Team Brian Lara Aakash Chopra Cricket