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Ever since announcing his international retirement, veteran cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has become more active on social media, especially YouTube. Ashwin called time on his illustrious international career during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in December last year. Recently, Ashwin spoke strongly against the "celebrity culture" in the Indian team, insisting that cricketers are not actors or superstars but simply athletes. The veteran all-rounder also urged players to stay grounded in order to be more relatable to the common people.
"It is important to normalise things in Indian cricket. We must not encourage this superstardom and super celebrities within the Indian cricket team. We must normalise all these things going forward. We are cricketers. We are not actors or superstars. We are sportspersons, and we must be someone that the common people should resonate with, and can compare themselves with," Ashwin said on his Hindi YouTube channel 'Ash Ki Baat'.
Citing the examples of star batter Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Ashwin urged players to focus on team goals rather than personal accolades.
"For example, if you are a Rohit Sharma or a Virat Kohli, who have achieved so much. When you hit one more century, it is not just about your achievement anymore. It should be business as usual, and our goals should be bigger than these achievements," the former India cricketer added.
With the Indian team set to take part in the Champions Trophy, Ashwin raised concerns over the management's decision to include five spinners -- Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy -- in the 15-man squad. He also shared his views on India's likely team composition during the tournament.
"Five spinners in Dubai? I don't know. I think we are one spinner too many, if not two. The two left-arm spinners are your best all-rounders alongside Hardik Pandya. So both Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja are going to play. Hardik will also play and Kuldeep will play. If you want Varun Chakravarthy in the team, then you will have to make a pacer sit out and use Hardik as your second pacer. Else you will have to drop a spinner to bring in a third seamer," Ashwin explained.
The Indian team and support staff members left for Dubai on Saturday, just five days ahead of their opening match against Bangladesh at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. India will play of their matches in Dubai after refusing to travel to Pakistan.