Former India and Karnataka batter Robin Uthappa, who was part of the Indian team that won the 2007 T20 World Cup, announced his retirement from all forms of Indian cricket in September last year. The star is now pursuing his passion abroad and is currently playing in the ILT20 - a franchise league in the United Arab Emirates. Playing for Dubai Capitals, he became the became the first player to receive the Green Belt after his 79-run knock off 46 balls against Gulf Giants at the Dubai International Stadium on Monday. Uthappa is currently leading the top run-scorer's chart with 122 runs.
Interestingly, the green belt that Robin Uthappa received had an uncanny resemblance with the belts that WWE wrestlers receive after a championship win. It had the fans amused.
Recently, Uthappa, who played his last two IPLs for CSK and decided to call it a day at the end of the 2022 season, said the trend of making "constant changes" in the India squad was making players feel unsafe.
"I think there is a lack of sense of security among the players in the team. There have been constant changes in the team for a long time, when a player does not feel safe, he always remains with the mindset of saving his place in the team," he told news agency PTI.
Uthappa, who won the IPL three times, said, "I think it is important to give a sense of security to the players. What we are seeing is, for the last few years, too many changes are going on. And in crucial matches, their performance dips because they are not sure of their place in (the) team for the next match."
Citing the example of MI and CSK, the two most successful IPL teams having won five and four titles respectively, Uthappa added, "You look at IPL, most of the times such teams have won the titles which have made less changes in the playing XI. The success of Chennai (Super Kings) and Mumbai (Indians) also proves this."