"You don't feel sad when you lose and happy when you win" - Aakash Chopra's massive statement after AUS vs IND 2025 ODIs

Former India player Aakash Chopra has questioned the relevance of bilaterals after the Men in Blue's recently concluded ODI series against Australia. He highlighted that no one is bothered about the series results.

India suffered a 2-1 loss in the three-match ODI series against Australia. Although the visitors lost the first two games and thereby the series, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's match-winning partnership in the inconsequential final ODI is being celebrated.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener highlighted that bilateral series are no longer exciting and questioned why they are being played.

"Does bilateral cricket have any relevance now? I am talking about white-ball cricket because nowadays you don't feel sad when you lose and happy when you win. So these three-match or five-match bilateral series, one has ended and the other is about to start, what is their actual purpose? Can we make this better somehow?" Chopra said (0:01). "Why are bilaterals played? There was an era when there was excitement and you used to wait for it. What happened in a series was remembered, but no one remembers it now. Everyone forgets what happened six months ago," he added.

Chopra noted that only individual performances, like Rohit and Kohli's knocks in the final ODI, garner attention in bilaterals.

"Only two things are spoken about. We celebrate individual performances, as we did in the last series. We lost the three-match series 2-1, but does it seem from anywhere that we lost? We are celebrating. We are doing bhangra because Rohit and Kohli scored runs," he observed.

Aakash Chopra pointed out that the other purpose of bilaterals is to prepare for the next World Cup. However, he highlighted that no one is worried about the World Cup currently, as it's still two years away.

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"You are in the process of killing a hen that gives a golden egg" - Aakash Chopra suggests triangular and quadrangular white-ball tournaments

Australia used to regularly host tri-nation series earlier. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that all cricket boards need to come together and find a solution to avoid killing white-ball cricket.

"What can be done? I think all boards need to be collective. They need to understand that there is a problem. If you shear a sheep totally, the sheep gets injured, and then you don't get any wool. You are in the process of killing a hen that gives a golden egg," he said (3:30).

The cricketer-turned-commentator urged boards to organize triangular or quadrangular white-ball tournaments.

"Don't do that. I would say organize tri-nation and quadrangular tournaments, where teams will have to create space in their home calendars, and the host nation should split the revenue," Chopra observed.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra noted that white-ball series have lost their charm and would become totally irrelevant if bilaterals continue to be played. He added that such series are no longer enjoyable as one or two ICC tournaments are being played every year.

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Edited by Kartik Iyer