Have you seen Joe Root and Jos Buttler fans fight?: Ashwin

Ganguly played under Sachin and vice versa: Ashwin

Dhoni too played under Virat: Ashwin

The factionalism within the Mumbai Indians (MI) camp has been a major talking point in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL). The issue started with a transfer of captaincy to Hardik Pandya from Rohit Sharma. Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has now opined on the matter. “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’ve said this many times. This is cricket. This is a cinema culture. I know there are things like marketing, positioning and branding. I don’t deny it. I don’t believe in all this on my side but it’s not wrong to indulge either. Fan wars should never take this ugly a route. One should remember which country these players represent- our country. So then what warrants a cricketer getting booed.” Ashwin said in his YouTube channel. 

Also Read: I think Hardik Pandya is going to get booed a bit louder in Mumbai: Manoj Tiwary

Ashwin illustrated his point by providing examples from India’s cricketing past. “I don’t 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. Ganguly played under Sachin 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,” Ashwin highlighted.