Robin Uthappa takes a dig at CSK after they allowed New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra to train at their academy | Cricket News
Former India batsman Robin Uthappa has come down heavily on Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for allowing Rachin Ravindra to practice in their academy in Chennai ahead of Test series against India.
“Rachin Ravindra came here and practiced at the CSK Academy. CSK is a beautiful franchise that will always look after its franchise players but a line has to be drawn where the interest of the country comes ahead of your franchise players, especially when he is a foreign player and comes and plays against our country,” Uthappa said on his YouTube channel.
Ravindra went to CSK academy ahead of their one-off Test against Afghanan in Greater Noida and trained there to get acclimatised to Indian conditions. It was a superb call the 24-year-old as he played a stellar innings of 134 (157) in the first Test and then followed it up with an unbeaten 39* in the second innings to help New Zealand chase down 107 to win the Test. Courtesy of his match-winning performances, Ravindra was adjudged Player of the Match for helping New Zealand win their first Test in India after 36 years.
Uthappa, who himself played for CSK in the 2021 and 2022, said that the franchise always go out of their ways for their players but should draw the line somewhere.
“I am not surprised that CSK always go over and above for their players but somewhere in that kindness, maybe I am not saying the right thing, I absolutely love CSK, but when it comes to the country, there should be a line somewhere where we do not cross that line,” he added.
