Barring one minor incident, the India-Australia ODI series went off smoothly without the players being involved in sledging. And there is a major reason for this, according to former batsman Virender Sehwag.
Virat Kohli-led India captured the five-match ODI series trophy with a convincing 4-1 verdict and now the teams square off in a three-match T20I rubber from Saturday (October 7).
Australians, who are known to unsettle the opposition with verbal volleys, remained quiet throughout the 50-over matches, from Chennai to Nagpur.
Also read: India-Australia series schedule
However, there was one instance where Australian wicketkeeper Matthew Wade had a go at Kohli after the batsman had taken a bye in Kolkata.
This was the only incident during the five contests and Australians refrained from sledging.
Sehwag feels that the visitors did not resort to usage of words as they were "scared" of Indian Premier League (IPL) auction next year.
"They (Australian players) are scared because of the next year's mega IPL auctions," Sehwag was quoted as saying in the media.
He added, "If they had sledged the Indian players in the ODI series, then the Indian franchise owners might think before bidding high for the Australian players. This can also be a reason for them not to get involved in sledging with their Indian counterparts."
IPL has completed 10 years and is set for a big players' auction in 2018.
Sehwag watched the India-Australia ODI series closely as he was part of the commentary team with Star Sports.
IPL has brought global cricketers closer and the cash-rich T20 tournament has given way to many friendships blossoming between rival players.
Many Australians are part of IPL since its inception in 2008. Steve Smith was the captain of Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) while David Warner led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Glenn Maxwell was the skipper of Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), which had Sehwag as mentor.
