Former Australian captain Michael Clarke in one of his recent interviews said Australian players went soft on Indian players and Kohli especially or otherwise they were afraid it might put their IPL contracts in danger.
However, former Indian opening batsman, Krishnamachari Srikkanth disagrees with the Australian world cup-winning-captain.
Srikkanth: Clarke’s Statement Is Ridiculous
He argued that matches are not won by sledging and Clarke’s statement was ridiculous. You need to play good cricket, bowl well and bat well to reach targets he added.
Srikkanth was speaking on Star Sports channel’s Cricket Connected programme when he said these words.
He said, “You do not win matches just by sledging. Aussie’s loss is a loss, his statement was ridiculous I would say. If you ask Nasser Hussain or Sir Vivian Richards who are experienced players, you can never score runs or get wickets through sledging.”
“You need to play good cricket and showcase determination; you need to bowl well to get wickets and bat well to achieve targets. Sledging cannot help in any way according to my opinion,” he added.
Clarke told Big Sports Breakfast recently, everybody knows how powerful India is financially both at international level and domestic level with IPL and every other team including Australia sucked up to India and did not sledge Kohli because they want to make USD 1 million in six weeks.
Laxman: Franchises Look At Calibre Of Players
Another batsman VVS Laxman who also appeared on the show also found Clarke’s statement inaccurate.
He said one can’t get a place in an IPL team just by being nice and it is player’s calibre and value add to the team which bring desired results, that the owners of the teams want.
He said,” “Just by being nice to someone doesn’t get you a place in IPL. Any franchise will look at the player’s calibre and value add to the team, which gives them desired results by winning matches/tournaments.”
