IND vs SL 2021:  Virender Sehwag slams Ranatunga, says this team can even beat Kohli's men in England

Virender Sehwag has skewered Arjuna Ranatunga for his comments on the Indian team in Sri Lanka. Refuting Ranataunga's claim that this is a second-string team, Sehwag argued that Shikhar Dhawan and Co. are 'equally talented' to Virat Kohli's Test team in England and could even beat them in a few games.

Ranatunga, a former World Cup-winning captain, has called the ongoing limited-overs series an 'insult' to his country's cricket. Virender Sehwag, however, labeled the comments rude and said with the talent India possesses, no national team can be called a 'B' side

"Arjuna Ranatunga was a bit rude in saying that. He might have thought this is a 'B' team but the strength of Indian cricket is such that you can send any team and it won't be a 'B' team. This is perhaps the benefit of the IPL, we have so much talent that we can't accumulate in a single team. This team is equally talented," he said.

What he's calling a 'B' team - which we don't accept - if they play against the current players in England, they will defeat them in a few games too," Virender Sehwag said in an interaction with Cricbuzz.

Toss & Team News from Colombo:Sri Lanka have won the toss & elected to bat against #TeamIndia in the first #SLvIND ODI.Follow the match 👉 https://t.co/rf0sHqdzSKHere's India's Playing XI 👇 pic.twitter.com/eYNANlZ9ij

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 18, 2021

India will play three ODIs and as many T20Is in the island nation. Soon after the series, the Virat Kohli-led Test team will begin the second World Test Championship with a 5-match series against England.

SLC should be grateful to BCCI for sending a team: Virender Sehwag

Your Team Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 for the first ODI against India! 🙌LIVE: https://t.co/B3ikscR5Zm#SLvIND pic.twitter.com/JpdbBN4lNG

— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) July 18, 2021

Virender Sehwag further said that instead of complaining, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and former players should be grateful to the BCCI for financially supporting the island nation by sending a team. He added:

"I don't think this is a 'B' team. The Sri Lankan board should instead thank the Indian board for even sending the team. They (BCCI) could have easily said, 'We are unavailable, let's have this tour sometime else'. They should be at least grateful for this team which will financially help the board and its players. If the Indian team had not gone there, they (SLC) would have lost the funds and sponsorships for all six games."

The first ODI is underway in Colombo. Sri Lanka dominated the first powerplay by scoring 55 runs at the cost of just one wicket. However, the visitors pulled the game back smoothly, with Kuldeep Yadav picking up two wickets in the 16th over.