"We all make mistakes" - Aakash Chopra on Ollie Robinson's suspension

Aakash Chopra believes that everyone tends to make mistakes when they are young and regrets their actions when they mature.

Ollie Robinson stood out on the field of play with his all-round performance for England on his Test debut at Lord's against New Zealand. However, he was suspended by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for racial and sexist tweets he had posted almost a decade back.

While talking about the suspension in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra pointed out everyone is bound to commit errors when they are young. The former Indian batsman said:

"Internet does not forget or forgive you. Ollie Robinson also apologized stating that he was reckless and young at that time and he does not think like that anymore. We all make mistakes and our thinking can change ten years from now."

Racism…cricket…Olie Robinson…Boris Johnson and more 🙌 today’s @betway Cricket Aakash Episode https://t.co/jZVtzAyxKk

— Wear a Mask. Stay Safe, India (@cricketaakash) June 8, 2021

The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that while Robinson has faced the consequences of his actions, this could happen to anyone as racism is prevalent all across the globe. Chopra added:

"We might be mentally offensive with regards to some things now, we might disrespect someone but ten years down the line, we might regret that. This can happen to all of us, let's be fair."

Aakash Chopra observed that the incident is a learning for all youngsters that they need to be careful about what they think and write.

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"ECB didn't have a choice" - Aakash Chopra

There are divided opinions about Ollie Robinson's suspension

Aakash Chopra pointed out that the ECB had no option but to suspend Ollie Robinson over his old tweets.

"ECB found themselves in a difficult situation because the moment it was brought out, they didn't have a choice. It was almost mandatory to take action because whenever something like that happens, as a board you have to react."

The former India opener reasoned that it would have been construed that the ECB was lenient with racism-related offenses if they had not taken any action.

"If you don't do that, it will be considered that you are also encouraging that and are in agreement that racism is perfectly fine. So they did not have an option, their hands were tied," signed off Aakash Chopra.

There are divided options across the globe about the suspension handed out to Ollie Robinson. While some are calling it a just action, others feel it is probably a bit too harsh considering that he has already apologized for a mistake he had committed when he was immature.

I can understand the negative sentiments towards what #OllieRobinson did years ago, but I do feel genuinely sorry for him being suspended after an impressive start to his test career. This suspension is a strong indication of what the future holds in this social media Gen.

— Mask up and take your vaccine🙏🙏🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) June 7, 2021