"If you have friends like that, why do you need enemies?" - Aakash Chopra on Australian media saying that the Indore pitch favors spinners

Aakash Chopra has highlighted that the Australian media seems to be working against their team's interest instead of helping them out.

India will face Pat Cummins' side in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Delhi from Friday, February 17. The third match of the four-match series, which was originally supposed to be played in Dharamsala, has been moved to Indore, as the ground in Himachal Pradesh was not ready to host the game due to unfavorable weather conditions.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra lambasted an Australian media outlet's take on the change of venue, saying:

"The third Test match between India and Australia has been moved from Dharamsala. They have taken it to the Indore ground. The pitch is generally extremely flat on the Indore ground but if we believe Fox Cricket, only spinners dominate there. If you have friends like that, why do you need enemies?"

Chopra highlighted that the two Tests played in Indore thus far have been high-scoring affairs, elaborating:

"Only two matches have been played in Indore till today. Mayank Agarwal scored a double century in one, Cheteshwar Pujara also scored runs. One was against Sri Lanka and the other against New Zealand - plenty of runs were scored."

India scored 557/5 in their first innings in the 2016 Indore Test against New Zealand, with Virat Kohli (211) and Ajinkya Rahane (188) shining with the bat. The hosts posted 493/6 on the back of Mayank Agarwal's 243 against Bangladesh in their only innings in the other Test played at the venue.

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"That's the only thing you could think of?" - Aakash Chopra on Ravichandran Ashwin's record at the venue being highlighted

Ravichandran Ashwin was India's most successful bowler in the first Test against Australia. [P/C: BCCI]

Chopra questioned the Australian media outlet for presenting a negative picture, observing:

"But there is a channel named Fox Cricket, which is from Australia, they have said that the venue has been changed and there Ashwin's bowling average is 12.5. That's the only thing you could think of?"

The cricketer-turned-commentator cited a few examples to illustrate that Indore has been a batter's paradise in ODI cricket as well, stating:

"Viru (Virender Sehwag) has also scored a double hundred here. When an ODI match happened here recently, 300 runs were scored. Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Devon Conway scored centuries. 400-450 runs are scored here in ODI matches and you people are feeling scared."

Chopra concluded by opining that Indore might present Australia with their best chance of winning or drawing a Test match on the tour. However, he added that the visitors will be in trouble if they think about Ravichandran Ashwin's average at the venue ahead of the game.