'I completely hate it. I have spoken about this to our players': R Ashwin reveals

India is set to participate in at least three more matches during the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. One of the most eagerly awaited fixtures in the Super Fours stage will see India facing off against arch-rivals Pakistan on September 10. India will also play against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the same tournament. Following these clashes, the Men in Blue will engage in a three-match ODI series against Australia before embarking on their ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign.

3 things you need to know

• The ODI World Cup 2023 will be held in India from October 5 to November 19
• The BCCI on Tuesday unveiled a 15-member provisional squad for the event
• The last date for the submission of the main World Cup squad is September 28

Also Read: Cricket World Cup 2023: All Squads For The Marquee ICC Event Scheduled To Be Held In India

Ashwin urges fans of Kohli and Rohit to unite 

Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin expressed his exasperation regarding fan rivalries. He openly admitted to discussing this issue with fellow players and expressed his strong dislike for it. Ashwin pointed out that in India, only two things seem to hold immense popularity: Cinema and Cricket. Unfortunately, this has led to constant feuds among fans, both in Bollywood and cricket. 

Ravichandran Ashwin also shared his perspective on avoiding fan conflicts during a major tournament. He mentioned a post that compared the number of catches dropped by Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma over the past five years. This happened after Kohli dropped a catch during a match against Nepal on Monday.

Ashwin stressed that being a fan of any cricketer shouldn't lead to unnecessary conflicts. Instead, he encouraged fans to rally behind the entire Indian team during the upcoming home World Cup, which will take them to nine different venues. Ashwin earnestly appealed to fans to set aside individual cricketer loyalties for just two months and unite in support of Team India.

"One more bad thing has been happening for a while now. I completely hate it. I have spoken about this to our players as well. I am talking about the increasing fan wars between players' fans. I completely don't understand why this is taking place. It has travelled all the way from the cinema. In Bollywood, it was Shah Rukh Khan vs. Amir Khan. Here, we had Rajini vs. Kamal and Vijay vs. Ajith. I don't understand why these fan wars take place in the first place. The competition is between the stars, right? Why are fans fighting?" Ashwin said. 

"I saw a post yesterday 'X player has dropped these many catches in the last 5 years and Y player has dropped these many catches in the same period.' First of all, the stat itself was wrong. I wanted to reply. Both the players have dropped catches. So, all I am trying to say is we should avoid these fan wars because after a point of time, it becomes more like a business. You can be a fan of any cricketer. At the end of the day, both of you are Team India fans, right? So, you can be fans of cricketers and keep engaging in fights. But just for 2 months, click the pause button," he added. 

Also Read: 'Case Mounts Against Him': AUS Great Calls India Star 'LUCKY' To Be Picked In WC Squad

ODI World Cup returns to India after 12 long years

The ICC ODI World Cup 2023 is scheduled to kick off on October 5 in India, with England, the defending champions, facing New Zealand in a rematch of the 2019 World Cup final. India's inaugural match in the tournament will be on October 8 against the five-time champions, Australia, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. India will play against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 14 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Image: X/BCCI