Ravichandran Ashwin, after raising questions over Harshit Rana‘s selection in the Indian team for the ODI series against Australia, has now defended the pacer. This comes after India head coach Gautam Gambhir lashed out at Krishnamachari Srikkanth for alleging that Harshit has been picked for the ODI series for being a “constant yes man” to him. Ashwin, who had also questioned the management over the pacer’s inclusion, echoed Gambhir’s sentiments, saying that there cannot be place for “below the belt” or “personal” attacks.
“I have always reiterated that no player should be attacked below the belt. When the attack becomes too personal, the genre changes. I would like to talk about Sanjay Manjrekar, who has criticised me throughout my career. But I have never held any grudge against him. What they say might be right or wrong, as long as the criticism doesn’t get personal, I am fine with it,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Ashwin said that he fully sympathises with Rana, while also calling out social media trolls for sharing negative content, adding that such attacks could shatter a player mentally.
“Assume Harshit sees the reel in which he is being harshly criticised, and he is about to play a match for India, wouldn’t he be shattered by this? And if his parents and friends see it, what will be their mindset? We can definitely criticise their skill, their style of cricket and the trade that they are plying. But it shouldn’t get personal. It may be funny once or twice, but it shouldn’t be a running theme. The reason they are doing this is that there is an audience for it. Negativity sells these days. They sell whatever is in demand. We should avoid consuming such content,” he added.
The veteran all-rounder highlighted the hypocrisy factor, questioning whether those currently targeting the player would be the same ones to celebrate him if he performs well in the future.
“Everyone’s targeting Harshit Rana left, right and centre. Let me ask you one thing: if the same Harshit performs well next year, will the same people put him on the same pedestal and celebrate him?” asked Ashwin.
“I am certainly disappointed. My request through this channel has always been to see cricket as cricket. Don’t buy or consume trash talk because that well could be your friend, your family, your son, your brother, your sister,” he added.