File photo of Rachin Ravindra.© BCCI
Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa has responded to the criticism he has received for condemning Chennai Super Kings' move to allow New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra to practice at their academy ahead of the side's recently concluded Test series in India. Ravindra emerged as the highest scorer for New Zealand in the Test series as the visitors registered a historic 3-0 whitewash over India. Ravindra was part of the CSK squad in IPL 2024 and the franchise allowed him to practice at their academy to get used to Indian conditions. Uthappa was highly critical of CSK's decision and said that when the interests of the country are at stake, a line has to be drawn by the teams.
“Rachin Ravindra came here and practiced at the CSK Academy. CSK is a wonderful franchise that will always look after its franchise players, but there has to be a line drawn where the country's interests come before those of your franchise players, especially if he is a foreign player and will come to play against our country,” Uthappa said on his YouTube channel.
“It doesn't surprise me that CSK always goes above and beyond for their players, but somewhere in that kindness, maybe I'm not saying the right thing, I absolutely love CSK, but when it comes to the country, there should be a line somewhere are where we don't cross that line,” he added.
But there are those who disagreed with Uthappa.
“I'm glad we can exchange ideas even if we disagree. Would you like to discuss this further during a live session? Let me know in the comments.”
Yesterday, I posted a video sharing my thoughts on Rachin Ravindra's training at the Super Kings Academy ahead of the Tests in India. Many of you seemed to disagree, and that's absolutely fine!
I'm glad we can exchange ideas, even if we don't agree. Will you… pic.twitter.com/QxWiMhVGxb
— Robbie Uthappa (@robbieuthappa) November 7, 2024
Many fans disagreed with Uthappa's views while others criticized him for his stand. Responding to the comments, the ex-Indian star said, “Yesterday I posted a video where I shared my thoughts on Rachin Ravindra's training at the Super Kings Academy ahead of the Tests in India. Many of you seemed to disagree with that agree, and that's absolutely fine!
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