Popularly known for conducting a press conference on the New Year’s eve to announce Indian squad for an upcoming series, former India pacer and current BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) chief selector Chetan Sharma has picked Valentine’s Day 2023 to reveal startling details about the Indian cricket team.
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Although Sharma himself didn’t decide to accuse Indian cricketers of wrongdoings on multiple fronts on February 14, Zee Media released a sting operation featuring the 57-year old this evening.
Sting operation meaning in cricket
For those who don’t know, sting operation is a pre-planned trap which is laid on someone in the hope to catch the concerned individual for committing a malpractice or for him to reveal something shocking (mostly infamous) about another person/group/entity.
Sting operations are conducted around the world ensuring that the person in question fails to observe the presence of hidden cameras and voice recorders around him.
As far as Indian cricket is concerned, it is not for the first time when a high-profile personality has been caught in a sting operation.
Chetan Sharma accuses top Indian cricketers of using injections
Sharma, who is currently serving his second term as the selector chief, claims to have busted a myth with respect to the fitness regime and fitness standards of some of the “top” players of the country.
In the video, Sharma can be heard talking about how Indian cricketers don’t consume pain-killers but use injections to attain optimum fitness. According to Sharma, players use injections which don’t fall under doping regulations on an individual basis after concerning with private doctors to recover from injuries.
“No! I am talking about injections. If they take pain-killer than it will come in doping. Indian cricketers are aware about which injections come in anti-doping,” Sharma told Zee Media in a sting operation. ‘The players are not fit but they take injections to play. They are ready to play even at 80% fitness.”
In simple words, these allegations are of an extremely serious nature especially for an Indian cricket team which has successfully built a reputation around achieving unmatched levels of fitness in the recent years. While such accusations shouldn’t be ignored entirely, it is pertinent for the BCCI to conduct a thorough inquiry and punish all the offenders, if any.