“There is a lot riding on the captain’s shoulders” - Aakash Chopra opens up on MS Dhoni’s hookah controversy

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has opened up on the MS Dhoni and Irfan Pathan’s hookah controversy, which hogged the spotlight earlier this week. Notably, Pathan’s old interview from 2020 went viral suddenly.

Speaking exclusively on Sports Tak, Irfan had stated that MS Dhoni had a few favorite members in the Indian team, and they used to set up a hookah for the skipper to stay relevant in the team for selection. However, he added that he is not someone who is up for setting up a hookah.

“I don’t have a habit of setting up a hookah in someone’s room or talking about this. Everyone knows. Sometimes, if you don’t speak about it, it’s better. A cricketer’s job is to perform on the field, and that is what I used to focus on,” Pathan had said on Sports Tak.

Speaking exclusively on CREX, Aakash Chopra has stated it’s all about picking the best Indian team. He also asserted that there was no bias or favouritism, but it was the fact that those players had spent more time.

“You want to pick your best team. But if you have seen someone more in front of you and playing under pressure, you move towards them, and that is normal. You will see that players from where the coach or captain is would be preferred more. That is not bias, not favouritism. It is just the fact that they have spent more time with them,” Aakash Chopra told CREX.

“Beyond that, what happens in one room, how many people sit, how many don’t – I don’t think a successful captain worth his salt is going to get influenced by that factor. At the end, he has to pick a team that can win and players who can take him to that destination. So there is a lot riding on the captain’s shoulders, and the stakes are high. I don’t think that if someone does not spend more time with the captain, they would be adversely treated or dropped,” he added.

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