Raksha Bandhan & Friendship Day: This is how Indian cricketers celebrated
From Shikhar Dhawan posting a video with Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara to Smriti Mandhana sharing a picture of ‘the best brother in the world’, Indian cricketers are having a good time.
Indian cricketers, both men and women, are on a roll and these are certainly happy times for them to remember.
Indian women cricketers returned from World Cup having earned a lot of respect, fame and a plethora of new fans with their splendid performances in England. The team produced one of their best shows by storming into the final ahead of the likes of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Smriti Mandhana was one of the revelations of the tournament. The left-hander sparkled with two big innings at the start of the Women’s Cricket World Cup and is one of the talents to watch out for in the time to come.
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On Monday, Smriti posted a picture of her brother, calling him the ‘best brother in the world’ on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
Recently, Smriti was praised by none other than Sri Lankan batting legend Kumar Sangakkara, who said he was ‘humbled’ to have been mentioned as the one that the Indian cricketer looks up to for improvement.
Smriti and Sangakkara have not met yet, but it’s the video footage of the latter that have served as rich tutorials to the young Indian.
“Whenever I feel that I am not batting the way I should, I watch videos of Kumar Sangakkara,” she said recently.
Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif also had a message to convey on Raksha Bandhan.
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Meanwhile, the Indian men’s team has been on a rampage. After a dominant 2016-17 season at home wherein they won against New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia, Virat Kohli’s team has embarked upon their next challenge: of winning away from home.
India completed a commanding win of an innings and 53 runs on Sunday when they defeated Sri Lanka, thus registering a series victory in the island nation.
After their win, the players had some time to cool off their heels, having made to work hard over the last four days in Colombo.
Shikhar Dhawan posted a video with Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored centuries both in Galle and Colombo, having fun after India’s win on Friendship Day.
Kohli, on the other hand, caught up with World Wrestling Entertainment star The Great Khali. Later, Kohli also put up photographs of his family and how he is missing his sister on Raksha Bandhan.
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But before that, Kohli and his teammates had a relaxing time in the swimming pool of their hotel in Colombo after finishing the second Test.
India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and veterans Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh also took to Twitter to convey their wishes on the occasion.
Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag, famous for his quirky tweets, celebrated Friendship Day with his wife Aarti. He also posted photographs of Raksha Bandhan where his sisters are tying him Rakhis, calling himself bald.
India and Sri Lanka will play the third and final Test in Kandy from August 12.