'Easy to Criticize Them on Social Media for Losing to a Team That Didn't Qualify for World Cup'

India began the tour of West Indies with a promising Test series win and then, pocketed the ODIs as well. However, they suffered a record defeat in the last leg of the tour, comprising five T20Is. After going down 0-2 in the series, the team full of youngsters did manage to bounce back with a couple of consecutive wins. But they succumbed to an 8-wicket defeat in the finals and list the series 3-2. It was their first-ever loss in a 5-match T20I series.

The disappointed fans started taking potshots at captain Hardik Pandya and the team management for losing the series to a side that has not even qualified for two world cups in a row. Amid all the criticism, veteran India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has come in support of the Indian team.

Speaking in his latest YouTube video, Ashwin said it’s easy for people to criticise a team who are watching from the outside but for a youngster, it’s always challenging to perform in an unknown territory.

“It is easy to criticize them on social media as they lost to a team that did not qualify for T20 WC last time and the 50-year WC this year. As a youngster, when you go to WI, there will be challenges. In all countries, there will be some innate secrets. The local players will know about these little things more than the visiting teams, especially when they are youngsters,” said Ashwin.

The veteran off-spinner shared his personal experience and spoke about the hurdles he had to cross on his maiden tours of the Caribbean, England and Australia.

“When I went to WI, England and Australia for the first time, I had to learn a lot of little things. When I went to Australia as a spinner in 2011, I only knew one thing about red-ball cricket.  My coach taught me that if a batter bats well and you are going through a tough spell, spin the ball really hard. I would try to spin hard and even harder on being hit for fours and sixes. That was all I knew on my first tour. But after that tour, I became richer as a cricketer.

“In Australia, I cannot just keep giving more air here. They can hit me down the wicket, smash me against the spin and with the wind as well. Another thing in Australia is there will be a cross breeze from one side.  Even if you are an off-spinner, Aussies will step out and smash you through the offside. This is not the norm in India. It was my first time in Australia,” he added.