Former Indian cricketer turned commentator Aakash Chopra praised Ravichandran Ashwin for backing Ajit Agarkar as he is set to end his reign as chief selector in an unceremonious fashion. He recently said on his YouTube channel that although he was phased out of the Indian team, he respects and understands the decisions made as well. Amid constant criticism of Ajit Agarkar’s controversial decisions during his three-year tenure as chief selector, Ashwin also said it was important to
understand that they were taken keeping the team’s interest in mind as well.

“The fact is that Ajit Agarkar had the responsibility to take a lot of big decisions in this stint; he had to phase out the senior players, it cannot be easy. I was one of the senior players phased out during his tenure, but still by keeping some distance from that I want to say that he has been a very good chairman of selectors. If we look at what all he has done with the team,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

“It takes guts to say what he has said. More than half of the people I have seen, and I have seen a lot of big players who are bitter. They are bitter because they feel that things did not go right for them. They have grudges, and they are bitter even after 10-15 years. Even after ending cricket and retiring, they are still bitter. They are still carrying that grudge around. I am not going to name names, but there are people like this,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

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Aakash Chopra also stated that the criticism the likes of Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir constantly face from fans and analysts is unfair because the actual story behind the decisions is not out in the open.

“We all felt that something happened with Ash, and he did that and all that. Ash is a pretty upfront guy, a completely honest guy who speaks what’s in his heart. He admitted that whoever has to handle a transition, it is a very difficult task for them. Agarkar has thought about how to take Indian cricket forward, it is not about worshipping players or looking at records,” Aakash Chopra further added.

“Many people abuse him, they are toxic people who talk a lot about Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir. There are so many realities that Ajit knows but can’t say because he is contractually bound. So, if R Ashwin, who was part of the transition, is saying that Ajit Agarkar has done a good job, I am going to take it at face value,” he concluded.