Former Team India cricketer Aakash Chopra has lashed out at Pakistan players for advocating the idea that India lost to England deliberately in the 2019 men's ODI World Cup.
The discussions about the Men In Blue's performance against the Three Lions have once again heated up after star England allrounder Ben Stokes quizzed their determination and intent in his new book titled 'On Fire'.
In the book, Stokes addressed the fact how he was surprised with Team India's intent during their group-stage clash but nowhere did he suggest that they lost the match deliberately.
However, former Pakistan cricketers started stating that India lost deliberately against England right after this.
"I mean think about it and have some shame. Waqar Younis, despite being the brand ambassador for the ICC at that time, he gave a statement during the World Cup saying that India threw the match away on purpose. I mean seriously," Chopra said on his Youtube channel.
"I can understand if the partnership between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma did not make sense to Stokes or if he was confused by Dhoni's approach towards the end. But he never said that India deliberately lost the match."
"Former Pakistani cricketers are openly saying that India lost deliberately and ICC should fine them. How can you think like that? It was more important for India to top the group at that time," he added.
During India clash against England in the group stage of the 2019 World Cup at Birmingham, the hosts cruised to a 31-run victory after posting a huge total of 338.
When Stokes spoke about MS Dhoni's lack of intent in his book, Pakistan fans started raising fingers at India claiming they deliberately lost the game to knock out their neighbours.
That's why Stokes also had to clarify that he never said India lost the match deliberately and some people were twisting his words.
