Team India is currently in the Caribbean islands prepping for the third and final ODI against the West Indies cricket team. The visitors drew first blood in the series by beating the hosts by 5 wickets in the ODI opener before the hosts made a stellar rebound in the must-win game as they beat India by 6 wickets and levelled the series.
Following India’s defeat, cricket experts lashed out at the Indian cricket team’s management for resting senior cricketers such as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Hardik Pandya who led the team in the second ODI couldn’t do much as West Indies were good at all facets of the game and deservedly earned their first win of this tour.
Meanwhile, Kapil Dev didn’t mince words as he slammed the Indian cricket team for their dismal performance. The former Indian captain reckons that the cash-rich IPL culture brought in a sense of arrogance in the players, which might have hindered them from winning ICC titles, with India last tasting the ICC title triumph in 2013.
Ravindra Jadeja’s response to Kapil Dev’s ‘arrogance’ remark
In an interview with The Week, the 1983 World Cup-winning skipper said, “Sometimes, when too much money comes, arrogance comes. These cricketers, they feel they know everything.” Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja made the headlines after he chipped in with a sharp reply to Kapil Dev’s remarks on the Indian players.
India’s productive all-rounder quickly rubbished the allegations by adding that there is literally no arrogance in the team in the first place. While addressing the reporters ahead of the deciding ODI against the West Indies, Jadeja made it clear that the former players have every right to express their opinion.
We are definitely going to play our best cricket in the third & final ODI: Ravindra Jadeja #TeamIndia | #WIvIND | @imjadeja pic.twitter.com/4oRPC255n3
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 31, 2023
He further clarified that there isn’t any arrogance in the existing Indian cricket team, “I don’t know when he said this. I don’t search for these things on social media. See everyone has their own opinion. Ex-player have full right to share their opinion, but I don’t think there is any arrogance in this team.”
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The deciding ODI will see the return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The third ODI will kick off on August 1 (Tuesday) at Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad. It remains to be seen which team will have a last laugh in the battle. Earlier, India won the Test series by 1-0 and they will also be hoping to end the ODI series on a high.