Indian Team Targeted on Australian Tours, Alleges Aakash Chopra

The rivalry between India and Australia in cricket is one of the most intense in the sport, and it's set to reach new heights when the two teams face off in a five-Test series Down Under for the Border Gavaskar Trophy, beginning this November. The build-up to the much-awaited clash is fast gaining momentum, and it has been further fueled by former India opener Aakash Chopra, who has exposed how Indian team and players are targeted on Australian tours.

Sharing a story from his commentary stint during India's 2018-19 tour, Chopra not only criticised the actions but also revealed how specific portions of play from live broadcast are clipped and shared with the Australian media to bring the Indian players into disrepute.

India registered a historic first ever Test series win in Australia under Virat Kohli's captaincy, and the story Chopra shared on the '2 Sloggers' podcast is from the second Test of the series in Perth. Chopra claimed that the broadcasters amplified the stump microphone to highlight a heated on-field exchange between Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja in an attempt to tarnish the image of the visiting team.

Chopra was in the commentary box when the said incident happened. "They (Australian media) used to release videos. They did it in front of me when Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja had a heated exchange with each other while standing in the 30-yard circle. The broadcasters amped up the stump mic as they were abusing each other," Chopra said on the podcast.

"They cut the clip and shared it with the press in front of me. After that, when we were talking off the field, I was like, 'What are we actually trying to achieve because it’s nothing',' the 47-year-old former opener added.

Chopra went on to add that Ricky Ponting, who was present in the commentary box when this happened, first condemned what he saw but said something exactly the opposite as soon as the former Australia captain went on air. "Ricky said they are 'Making a mountain out of a molehill'. The moment he went on air, he tore into the Indian team, and I was stunned that he had just said something else a few minutes back," Chopra recalled.

Chopra's revelations have sparked outrage among Indian fans and former players, who have accused the Australian media of bias and unfair treatment of the Indian team. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has also taken note of the matter and is expected to raise it with the International Cricket Council (ICC).

The upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy series is expected to be one of the most fiercely contested in recent memory, and the off-field drama is only adding to the anticipation. It remains to be seen how the Indian team will respond to the allegations of unfair treatment, but one thing is for sure: the rivalry between India and Australia is set to reach new heights in the coming weeks.

Tags: #IndiaVsAustralia, #BorderGavaskarTrophy, #AakashChopra, #AustralianMedia, #CricketRivalry