Ravichandran Ashwin Names The 1 Disease That Has Plagued Indian Cricket

Ashwin has openly spoken about toxic Indian fans on social media (PC -x.com)

Ravichandran Ashwin retired from Indian cricket late in 2024 during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which India went on to lose by 3-1. Since hanging up his boots, the legendary off-spinner has been pretty vocal about his opinions on his social media handles and YouTube channel.

Ashwin has never shied away from speaking his mind, even if his opinions have offended some fans of a specific cricketer, team or franchise. Recently, the former India international backed Gautam Gambhir by praising his qualities for putting the team above individuals.

Ravi Ashwin calls out problematic fans

While backing his previous statement, Ravichandran Ashwin spoke about the fan culture that favours specific players over Team India. He slated fan armies as the biggest disease present in Indian cricket.

“There’s something of a disease going around at this point. A lot of these opinions that show up on social media through fan armies—I’ve heard them before, first-hand. Sometimes, I’ve heard these same views at a breakfast table or a lunch table, and later they appear online under some other name. That’s when you wonder—how is this happening?” Ravi Ashwin said at a conclave hosted by Revsportz.

Furthermore, Ashwin strongly rebuked the PR activities that initiate social media wars between fans of two specific individuals or teams.

“I’m not saying players themselves are planting these opinions, but it is scary. Is there some sort of espionage going on? I’m not saying that’s exactly what’s happening, but there is surely some business structure involved. Today, every player is an entrepreneur, and pushing opinions outside can increase brand value or improve PR. I’m all for that. But speaking ill of another cricketer is something I would never do,” Ashwin added.

Ravi Ashwin backs Gautam Gambhir's ideology

Recently, Ravichandran Ashwin backed Gautam Gambhir, praising his qualities for putting the team above himself. He backed the current Indian head coach and agreed with his ideologies, who has never backed down from putting team over star players.

“I like Gautam (Gambhir), and many people may have different opinions about him, but he is someone who always puts the team ahead of individuals. He credits the team, not individuals, and that’s something I admire," Ashwin had said at the same event.

However, Gambhir has come under a lot of scrutiny for his long streak of interviews since India's triumph in the 2026 T20 World Cup.

What's next for Ravichandran Ashwin?

Ravi Ashwin, after retiring from Indian cricket, decided to feature in T20 leagues across the globe, starting from the Big Bash League (BBL) 2025/26, but a knee injury ruled him out even before the start of the tournament.

Nevertheless, the legendary off-spinner wants to offer his services as a player-coach as a T20 agent before gradually moving into the next phase of his professional career.

Retired as India's second-highest wicket-taker in Tests, Ashwin has taken 317 wickets in T20s, along with 1233 runs at a healthy strike rate. He was also the highest wicket-taker for India in T20Is for a long time, featuring in four T20 World Cups for the country.