IPL 2024: ‘Why Do You Boo Your Own Player?’ – R Ashwin Comes to the Defense of Hardik Pandya

R Ashwin advocates for peace among fans in India after Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya received a negative reception during the IPL 2024 season.

Hardik Pandya, taking over from Rohit Sharma, has encountered a rough start with two consecutive losses and social media backlash. During MI’s IPL 2024 opener against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad, Hardik faced jeers from the crowd.

Additionally, criticism flooded social media after their defeat to SRH, leaving MI winless this season. Ashwin addressed the issue on his YouTube channel, responding to a fan’s query about MI issuing a statement.

The RR spinner chimed in, saying it’s not fair to blame either the franchise or the player, and he’s fed up with the toxic fan culture in India. Ashwin didn’t mince words, labelling it all as just ‘cinema culture’ and finding it shocking that Indian players are getting booed by their own supporters.

“Neither has any role to play in it. I think it is the responsibility and onus of the fans.. Fan wars are turning so ugly. It is very sad to point where in our comments section, people talk about Kohli and Dhoni. They’re both legends. They’re Indian team legends.”

“How you seen in any other country where Joe Root and Zak Crawley fans fighting? It’s crazy, I don’t understand. Do Steve Smith and Pat Cummins fans fight in Australia?”

“This is cricket. I repeat this again, this is a complete cinema culture. But fan wars shouldn’t turn ugly. These guys are our own cricketers. Why do you boo your own player?” said Ashwin.

Ashwin also mentioned how big guns like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and Rahul Dravid had their stint under a young skipper like MS Dhoni back in the day. He also added that he’s all for ditching the hero worship culture in the country.

“Why are you pretending like this hasn’t happened before. Sachin Tendulkar has played under Ganguly, and both men played under Rahul Dravid. All of them have played under MS Dhoni as well.”

“We need to get our act together. Heroes and hero worships are great. But you don’t need to demean a player to make the other person look good. This is something I would like to see disappear from our country,” said Ashwin.