IPL 2024: Ravichandran Ashwin slams fans for degrading Hardik, Rohit as players

Ravichandran Ashwin (Pic: File Pic)

India's premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin slammed fans for taking the "fan war" too far between Mumbai Indians' Hardik Pandya and former captain Rohit Sharma.

Pandya moved to MI and is captaining the side in the IPL 2024. He spent two seasons with Gujarat Titans which saw the side clinching the title in their maiden IPL season. In the previous year, GT ended the season as runners-up as they lost the final against Chennai Super Kings.

While head coach Mark Boucher has clarified that the move is meant to help Rohit play with more freedom following some underwhelming seasons with the bat, many fans have expressed that MI and Pandya have betrayed Rohit.

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Ahead of the IPL 2024, fans of both players have started abusing each other's preferred players. Pandya has been booed as well as abused during the matches.

In his YouTube channel, Ravichandran Ashwin said the franchise and both players have no role to play in this fan war. The onus lies on the fans to act responsibly. The spinner also questioned if there have been any instances in abroad where the fans have abused players and the fight has gotten ugly.

"Neither has any role to play. Neither the franchise nor the player has a role to play in this at all. I think the responsibility and the onus lie on the fans," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

"Have you seen this happen in any other country? Have you seen Joe Root and Zak Crawley fans fight? Or have you seen Joe Root and Jos Buttler fans fight? It's crazy. Have you seen Steve Smith and Pat Cummins fans fight in Australia? I have said this many times. This is cricket. This is a cinema culture. I know there are things like marketing, positioning and branding. I do not deny it. I do not believe in all this on my side but it is not wrong to indulge either. Fan wars should never go down this ugly route. One should remember which country these players represent--our country. So then what warrants a cricketer getting booed?" Ashwin added.

He questioned why a team should come with a clarification about a player and a captaincy saga when legendary cricketers like Saurav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble and MS Dhoni, etc. have played under youngsters or each other's captaincy. over the years.

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"I do not understand. If you don't like a player and boo a player, why should a team come out to issue a clarification? We act like this has not happened before. (Sourav) Ganguly played under Sachin (Tendulkar) and vice versa. These two have both played under Rahul Dravid's captaincy. These three have played under Anil Kumble and all of them have played under Dhoni. When they were under Dhoni, these players were cricket jambhavans (giants). Dhoni too played under Virat," he said.

Ashwin said that the fans need to get their act together and enjoy their favourite players without putting the other player down.

"We need to get our act together. You know what the problem is? We are all happy to sit in our houses, look outside and have someone else to pick up the trash. We do not want to bother doing it ourselves. We should correct ourselves first. This is real-time sports. Real-time sports have real-time emotions. How we go beyond that, counter it and find a balance to play cricket is what this is all about," said Ashwin.

"A real sport can never be compared to cinema. Heroes and hero-worships are great. I am all for it. Enjoy what you like about your favourites but not at the cost of putting another player down. This is one thing I would love to see disappear from the face of the earth in our country," Ashwin concluded.

Meanwhile, MI have started their IPL 2024 season with two losses in two games against the Gujarat Titans (GT) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Their next match is against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their home arena of Wankhede Stadium on April 1.

(With ANI Inputs)