Overview
- Speaking on Monday, Ravichandran Ashwin urged fans and commentators to end personal attacks and keep discussions rooted in on-field performance and selection logic.
- He echoed Gautam Gambhir’s recent plea for responsible social-media conversations after the coach faced calls for removal and demands for a specialist red-ball coach.
- Ashwin cited the Riyan Parag selection debate to argue that critiques should weigh merits and drawbacks rather than label players as good or bad.
- He named fast bowlers Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana as examples of players targeted online who then delivered strong outings in the recent ODI series against South Africa.
- Warning against a ‘movie script’ fandom that pits players against one another, he called on players, experts and supporters to narrate the game in ways that minimize harm.