One of the controversial moments during the India and Japan game came in the final over when a wide decision was reversed by the umpires after the Indian players protested. In a close finish, India managed to win the game by just two runs in the end, and that decision to reverse the wide had a huge say in the end; if it had been given, the game might have ended up in a draw. Post the game, there was outrage on social media about the decision.

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra slammed those who called India cheated to win the game on his YouTube channel.

“People are saying that India beat Japan by cheating. This is being said because a wide was overturned, and the decision was reversed because India put pressure. People are just creating chaos. There are a lot of people who want to abuse India. You cannot say that we won unfairly, because it was not unfair,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

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“My understanding at the time was actually wrong. If you don’t hit the switch hit, if you have not swapped your hands, that means you have not become a right-handed batter from a left-handed batter. I felt that the wide line on both sides is given in favor of the bowler when a switch hit is played, not when you play a reverse sweep,” he added.

“The second complication was that, at the time of delivery, right when the bowler released the ball, did the batter change his stance or not? My initial understanding was that if the stance is not changed before the ball is bowled, then wide shall remain a wide. But my understanding was wrong. I went through the rules and listened to the umpires, and according to the new ICC rules, it does not discriminate between a switch hit and a reverse sweep,” Aakash Chopra explained.

“So, point one, they view both shots in the same way. Secondly, whether the ball is in the hand or released from the hand, it does not matter when you change your position. It will be counted as the batter having changed his position. So, the benefit of the doubt will go to the bowler. You are both a left-hander and a right-hander in the eyes of the law,” he concluded.