Ravi Ashwin dismisses advantage claims: ‘Tournaments are won on performance, not excuses’

Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has strongly dismissed claims that India had an advantage playing in Dubai during the ongoing Champions Trophy. Speaking on his Hindi YouTube channel, Ash Ki Baat, Ashwin criticized those suggesting that the Rohit Sharma-led side benefited from familiar conditions, emphasizing that success is determined by performance, not circumstances.

“I am laughing when people ask our captain and coach the same question about having an advantage playing in Dubai,” Ashwin said. He pointed out that South Africa played all their games at the same venue in the 2009 Champions Trophy but failed to qualify for the knockouts. “It was not South Africa’s fault that they didn’t qualify then. Teams qualify only because they play good cricket,” he stated.

Ravi Ashwin slams criticism over Dubai conditions, highlights team’s strong performance

India has been dominant throughout the tournament, winning all their matches in Dubai, including against the other finalist, New Zealand. Ashwin stressed that India reached the final based on their high-quality cricket. “No matter what happens in the final, they deserved to be finalists because of the kind of cricket they have played. Please don’t throw mud at our own cricketers because of someone else’s narrative,” he added.

The veteran off-spinner also took a swipe at foreign teams that blame Indian pitches for their failures. “I know a Test team that travels to India, loses the series, and then blames it on the pitches. Imagine an Indian cricketer coming out and saying such things if we lost a series overseas. We never do that,” he remarked.

Ashwin urged fans to celebrate the team’s success rather than buy into external narratives. “If India wins this trophy, we will be winning the title back-to-back. Let’s celebrate them,” he said.

He also addressed concerns about scheduling, referring to India’s grueling travel schedule in the 2023 ODI World Cup. “We played at nine different venues and traveled 8,400 km in the league stage alone. I was with the team, I traveled with the team,” he explained. Acknowledging South African batter David Miller’s claim that short flights can cause fatigue, Ashwin noted that the fixture schedule is beyond India’s control. “This schedule was decided even before an Indian became ICC chief,” he said.

With India on the brink of another major ICC title, Ashwin’s words serve as a strong defense of the team’s achievements and a call to rally behind them.

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