"VVS Laxman was not treated well by Deccan Chargers" - Former India and KKR batter's massive claim on former IPL franchise

Former India and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Aakash Chopra made a massive claim on now-defunct Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Deccan Chargers. He reckoned that former batter VVS Laxman was not treated fairly during his time with the team.

Laxman was named captain of the Deccan Chargers during the inaugural IPL edition in 2008. However, as they finished at the bottom that season, he was removed from captaincy with Adam Gilchrist taking over for the 2009 IPL.

Chopra felt that the franchise did not treat the Indian legend well, as he was abruptly sacked as skipper. He also picked some decisions taken in the league that he felt were tough or harsh calls.

"I think the most brutal call was KKR removing Ganguly from captaincy. That was a sign of now things were going to be. I feel VVS Laxman was not treated well by Deccan Chargers. That decision did not become famous because Laxman has not become as famous as he deserves to be. KKR and Shreyas Iyer would have been a tough call too. Morally, banning the two teams for two years was also the right call. It would have been very difficult to ban champion teams from the tournament. But it was the right call, although very difficult. Removing Rohit from captaincy would have been a very tough thing to do, to go tell him about it," he said on Shubhankar Mishra's YouTube channel.

Chopra, along with former Indian cricketer Sanjay Bangar, were a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) during the 2009 season. He recalled how the two were sent back midway and stated that many such things would have happened to players that do not even come out in the open.

"Sanjay Bangar and I were in KKR. We were both sent home in the middle of the season in the second year. It was a very hard decision at an individual level. They felt these two were not needed. Gayle and Punjab was known because he came on your show. But such things would have happened with so many players, and you won't even know about it."

Chopra played just two matches in the 2009 season. Notably, that was the last time he was seen playing in the IPL and did not feature in a single game ever after.

---

Aakash Chopra recalls a harsh incident that happened to his former India teammate

Aakash Chopra also recalled an incident where his former India teammate and wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel was spoken badly of by a former cricketer on TV. He did not name the player but revealed his comments about Parthiv back in 2004.

"In 2004, Parthiv and I were dropped together. A former cricketer was sitting on a TV channel. He said like how a bald guy cant comb, a dumb person cant talk, and a deaf person can't hear, Parthiv cannot do keeping. I was sitting with Parthiv and watching that show. I told him sorry PP. We were anyway dropped and going home. No one should say such things about players," he said.

The former batter also revealed an incident that ended his international career in 2008. Despite having scored three double centuries in the 2007-08 domestic season, Virender Sehwag was picked over him for the Australia tour. He recalled that the selectors had to make a call between himself and Sehwag. They went with Sehwag as they needed an experienced and dynamic opener in the Indian team.

"Viru told me once when I was not selected that sorry your name is not there and it wont come also because they are taking me. This is Viru. He told the selector in the previous match that take him (Aakash) because he has scored runs. He was like sorry. And after that it is a fact that I was never in the conversation also. But for the selectors it was a choice between me and Viru. For me it was unfair, but for him it was a favor to go with gut feeling," he stated.

"Now that I look back, I had some seven or eight centuries and it was unfair. But the selectors picked him and the rest is history. The big story is, the decision to back him proved right after a point of time and that got justified. So in that sense, there is no justice all the time. You can be salty, but that is the reality," he added.

Sehwag went on to score a brilliant hundred in Adelaide and became a permanent member of the Indian team. Chopra ended with 10 Tests, despite having amassed 10839 runs in first-class cricket at an average of 45.35 with 29 hundreds.