Ashwin’s cryptic post sparks wildfire online!

The Indian cricket team suffered a two-wicket defeat against Australia in the second ODI at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide earlier today, to lose the three-match series 2-0 with one match still remaining.

Just an hour after the tough loss, former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin shared a cryptic post on his official X account, to send shockwaves not only among his fans but also the cricket community at large, who were all wondering why and what exact message he tried to convey through it.

Ravichandran Ashwin, the legendary off spin bowler, sent out a picture of the trademark Nike logo with Indian tricolour stripes - orange, saffron, and green - which also had written “Just Leave It” instead of the brand’s original tagline “Just Do It”. It is not clear whether it was his way to tell the Men in Blue to give up on the ODI series without playing the final match at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in Sydney on Saturday, October 25, or the message was intended to someone else entirely.

India will play third and final ODI of the series against Australia in Sydney on Saturday

Regardless of the exact intention behind the post from Ravichandran Ashwin on X, it is clear that the Indian cricket team are looking for inspiration from somewhere in the ongoing three-match ODI series against Australia down under. Following a one-sided defeat in the first ODI on DLS method at the Optus Stadium in Perth, India made a better fist of things in the recently concluded second match of the series, but it went in vain as Australia got over the finishing line due to a maiden fifty from youngster Cooper Connolly in pursuit of the 265-run target.

On the batting side of things, former India captain Virat Kohli got out for consecutive ducks in a format he usually dominates even without needing a proper build-up throughout his career. Apart from him, the newly appointed Indian ODI captain Shubman Gill was dismissed for a low score in back-to-back matches while the bowling lineup missed the services of Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav, who weren’t in the playing XI in both the contests, especially with the latter not being picked in the squad.

The Men in Blue will be looking to make amends in the third and final ODI this weekend, to end their series on a high by handing Shubman Gill his first win as the captain in the format.