Mumbai Indians’ captain Hardik Pandya walks off the sector after dropping his wicket in the course of the IPL match in opposition to Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad on March 27, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP
Veteran spinner R Ashwin got here out in vehement assist of besieged Hardik Pandya after the Mumbai Indians captain was subjected to venomous reception by followers throughout Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
Ashwin squarely blamed the prevailing ambiance of “fan wars” and “cinema culture” for the hostile remedy of Pandya by the spectators and in social media areas, which began after the all-rounder changed Rohit Sharma as MI captain forward of IPL 2024.
“Fan wars should never go this ugly a route. One should remember which country these players represent – our country. So, then what warrants a cricketer getting booed?
“I do not perceive. If you do not like a participant and boo a participant, why should a workforce come out to subject a clarification,” Ashwin said in his YouTube Channel while answering a question from one of the viewers.
Pandya had to go through a hostile round of booing during their season opener against his former side Gujarat Titans as the fans vented their sense of betrayal.
The 30-year-old also suffered a similar treatment by fans at Hyderabad, a neutral venue, in the match against the Sunrisers.
“This is cricket, and there’s a prevalent cinema tradition. I do know there are issues like advertising and marketing, positioning and branding. I agree with all that. But I do not imagine in all this, but it surely’s not mistaken to take pleasure in both,” said Ashwin.
The experienced off-spinner said neither the player nor the Mumbai team management owed an explanation on the issue, but urged the fans to be more rational in their behaviour.
“Neither has any position to play. Neither the franchise not the participant has a task to play on this in any respect. I feel the accountability and the onus lies on the followers,” he said.
Ashwin, who recently completed the double of 100 Tests and 500 wickets, said toxicity has been increasing among Indian fans as compared to fans from some other cricketing nations.
“Have you seen this occur in another nation? Have you seen followers of Joe Root and Zak Crawley battle? Have you seen followers of Joe Root and Jos Buttler battle?
“Have you seen Steve Smith and Pat Cummins fans fight in Australia,” Ashwin identified.
The Chennai man additionally introduced out examples from the previous when legends like Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly performed below MS Dhoni, a a lot youthful cricketer then, setting apart their egos.
“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 had been below Dhoni, these gamers had been cricket jambhavans (veterans). Dhoni too performed below Virat (Kohli),” he said.
However, this is not the first time the fan fights have crossed the limit as the fanatic supporters of Kohli and Rohit – the self-styled Viratians and Rohitians — used to have a X-rated war in social media domains.
Ashwin called for an end to such practices.
“We are all comfortable to sit down in our homes, look exterior and another person to choose up the trash. We should right ourselves first. Real occasions sports activities have actual time feelings. An actual sport can never be in comparison with cinema. Heroes and hero worships are nice,” he stressed.
While he was not against hero adulation, Ashwin urged fans to enjoy sports without noxiousness.
“I’m all for it (hero worship). Enjoy what you want about your favourites however not at the price of placing one other participant down. This is one factor I’d like to see disappear,” he stated.