People Just Want To Abuse India: Aakash Chopra Slams 'Cheating' Allegations On India vs Japan

From the source Aakash Chopra reacted to the wide controversy |Courtesy - @CricketAakash- X/screengrab

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra lashed out at criticism of Indian players during their narrow two-run victory against Japan in a historic clash on Tuesday (September 22) at the Sano International Ground. The ex-Indian opening batter claimed no unfair activity happened and a fair call was ultimately made by the umpires.

For those unversed, a major controversy erupted in the last over of the five-over game with Japan needing six runs in four balls as the on-field umpire gave a wide over an attempted reverse sweep, which led to an animated reaction by Axar Patel before skipper Shreyas Iyer had a long discussion with the match official. Ultimately, the decision was overturned after a chat between the two umpires.

Chopra claimed that some people are desperate to abuse India and claim that India cheated to win the game.

"People are saying that India beat Japan by cheating. This is being said because a wide was overturned, and the decision was reversed because India put pressure. People are just creating chaos. There are a lot of people who want to abuse India. You cannot say that we won unfairly, because it was not unfair," said Chopra in a video on his Youtube channel.

The cricket-turned-commentator pointed out that the new rule claims that the leg-side wide is neglected if a batter tries either a reverse sweep or switch hit.

"My understanding at the time was actually wrong. If you don't hit the switch hit, if you have not swapped your hands, that means you have not become a right-handed batter from a left-handed batter. I felt that the wide line on both sides is given in favor of the bowler when a switch hit is played, not when you play a reverse sweep," Chopra stated.

"The second complication was that, at the time of delivery, right when the bowler released the ball, did the batter change his stance or not? My initial understanding was that if the stance is not changed before the ball is bowled, then wide shall remain a wide. But my understanding was wrong. I went through the rules and listened to the umpires, and according to the new ICC rules, it does not discriminate between a switch hit and a reverse sweep.

"So, point one, they view both shots in the same way. Secondly, whether the ball is in the hand or released from the hand, it does not matter when you change your position. It will be counted as the batter having changed his position. So, the benefit of the doubt will go to the bowler. You are both a left-hander and a right-hander in the eyes of the law," the ex-Indian opening batter explained.

Disclaimer: This article summarizes a report by Aakash Chopra. While Times Now has verified the public data presented, the interpretations of 'intent' remain those of the creator.

Aayush Kataria is a Senior Copy Editor at Times Network with four years of experience, having started his career in the organisation. He is a key memb...