"Dravid and Dhawan will not bother about this statement" - Reetinder Sodhi says Ranatunga's comments don't make sense

Reetinder Sodhi feels Rahul Dravid and Shikhar Dhawan will be least concerned about Arjuna Ranatunga's recent comments as their focus will only be on beating Sri Lanka.

A young Team India under the leadership of Dhawan will play six limited-overs matches against the Lankans, starting with the first ODI on July 13. Ranatunga recently said that the BCCI sending a second-string squad is an insult to Sri Lankan cricket.

Arjuna Ranatunga said the second string Indian team coming to Sri Lanka is an insult on Sri Lankan cricket. The current administration needs to be blamed for agreeing to play with India due to television marketing needs. (To Press).

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) July 2, 2021

During a discussion on India News, Reetinder Sodhi highlighted that the Indian think tank will simply ignore Ranatunga's comments. He added that the former Sri Lankan skipper will have to admit his mistake once Team India trounces the hosts. He said:

"I feel Rahul Dravid and Shikhar Dhawan will not bother about this statement. They will just concentrate on their cricket and beat Sri Lanka hands down. After that when the statement is run, it will be very interesting. Arjuna Ranatunga will have to eat his own words."

Even though Team India are missing some of their regulars like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja, they will start as the favorites against a Sri Lankan side that has been annihilated by England in the ongoing series between the two nations.

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"You should never take your opposition lightly" - Reetinder Sodhi

Reetinder Sodhi pointed out that the Indian team visiting Sri Lanka is a formidable unit [P/C: Twitter/BCCI]

Reetinder Sodhi added that Ranatunga's comments lacked any substance as the Indian youngsters have already shown their potential by beating Australia against all odds in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He explained:

"It is said you should never take your opposition lightly. The sort of statements that have been made, there is no need for that, they do not make sense. What we have done in Australia when our main players were injured, these boys were the top performers there."

The former India all-rounder signed off by stating that the Indian team that has traveled to Sri Lanka is an experienced lot at the international level. Reetinder Sodhi added:

"Only six guys can make their debut. All the remaining players have worn the Indian jersey and some of them have played in all three formats. I think this is testimony to the fact how good this team is."

The Indian team for the Sri Lanka tour has four players - Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya and Yuzvendra Chahal - who have played in more than 100 limited-overs internationals. Some of the others are also in the running for a place in the Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Shikhar Dhawan (142), Bhuvneshwar (117), Hardik Pandya (60), Yuzi Chahal (54), Kuldeep Yadav (63) & Manish Pandey (26) = Total 462 ODI matches played by these players.This is lot more than the current Sri Lankan team have played together.#SLvIND #Cricket

— Saransh (@Cricket_Saransh) July 2, 2021