"We are playing cricket like legitimate champions" - Aakash Chopra on the Indian team and players topping most of the ICC rankings

Aakash Chopra believes the Indian team and players topping most of the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings reflects their current dominance in international cricket.

Rohit Sharma and Co. have won all eight of their games in the ongoing 2023 World Cup. The Men in Blue occupy top spot in eight categories in the recently released rankings.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra reflected on some of the recent developments in international cricket. Regarding India's dominance in the ICC rankings, he said (6:45):

"The Indian team is at No. 1 in every ranking - No. 1 in ODIs, Tests and T20Is. No. 1 ODI batter - Shubman Gill, No. 1 T20I batter - Suryakumar Yadav, No. 1 ODI bowler - Mohammed Siraj, No. 1 Test all-rounder - Ravindra Jadeja, all are ours."

The former India opener added:

"We are not letting anyone come close. We are not only playing like No. 1, we are ranked No. 1 as well. We are playing cricket like legitimate champions - not only in one format but in all three formats. If we had an awards night now, our team would have got all the awards."

Apart from the aforementioned players, Ravichandran Ashwin is perched atop the ICC Test bowling rankings.

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"It's irrelevant" - Aakash Chopra on Angelo Mathews posting a video showing he had time left when his strap broke

Angelo Mathews was dismissed timed-out in Sri Lanka's clash against Bangladesh. [P/C: AP]

Aakash Chopra feels Angelo Mathews trying to prove that his strap broke within the allowed two minutes does not have any relevance. He stated (7:30):

"Angelo Mathews has added a little spice. He has put a video that shows he was ready in 1 minute and 54 seconds. He said - 'I rest my case'. Six seconds were left when the strap got broken. The question is whether he would have been ready in that or not, but it's irrelevant."

Chopra believes the Sri Lankan all-rounder shouldn't have been given out in any case. He reasoned:

"Firstly, Bangladesh shouldn't have done it. Behave yourself, honestly. The umpires could have also said that it's okay. It can be carelessness but it wasn't cheating. There is an ethical debate about the run-out at the non-striker's end because one guy is cheating there."

Shakib Al Hasan opted not to take back his appeal for a timed-out dismissal. The umpires have mentioned that Mathews had exceeded the two-minute timeline to get ready to face a delivery even before his strap broke.