Australian vice-captain and one of the most destructive batsmen in the world, David Warner, has said that playing against India is as intense as playing The Ashes series. As we all know, The Ashes is, arguably, the greatest rivalry in the sport and every time it happens, the entire cricketing world watches it with great excitement.
“That passion and aggression is on the field it will be there. It’s a lot like we have with England in the Ashes,” David Warner said while speaking to India Today.
However, the swashbuckling opening batsman added that the way India vs Australia series is commercialised in India is not in good taste. Warner said that a cricket series should not be portrayed using words like ‘bully-to-bully’ and ‘#sledgehammer’ as both the teams are competitive and want to beat each other on the field.
Speaking to India Today, David Warner said, “It’s quite funny how the series (between India and Australia) are commercialised. Every time I come to this country, you watch the commercials and it’s like bully-to-bully and #sledgehammer. We are two very competitive countries.
“Don’t think it should be portrayed like that. The rivalry started in Australia. We are both so competitive and we want to beat each other. That level of competitiveness is great for the game. People like seeing that rivalry and we absolutely thrive on playing each other.”
Star Sports hold the broadcasting rights of home matches in India and they try to commercialise and create a hype around big series using advertisement that are, mostly, in India’s favour and against the touring team.
It started with the famous ‘mauka mauka’ advertisement campaign that was started in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 before the match between India and Pakistan. It became a massive hit on the internet and since then, Star Sports have been making catchy commercials to create a buzz around every cricket series that happens in India.
In its latest attempt, Star Sports have targeted Australia’s weak show in the first two ODIs and created a video in which a group of Indian cricket fans cane be seen trolling an Australian fan.
This video will surely annoy the Australian cricketers, specially David Warner, who requested the broadcasters to not use such commercials for a cricket series. But, Indian cricket fans are enjoying it and that’s what matters the most to Star Sports in India.
Watch the video shared below and share your views. Do you agree with David Warner or it should not be taken too seriously? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
VIDEO: Star Sports Troll Australia After The First Two ODIs
Featured image source: Star Sports (screen garb)
