Ravichandran Ashwin has waded into the brewing social media storm surrounding Ishan Kishan’s provocative celebrations at Chepauk, urging aggrieved fans to leave their egos behind and embrace the inherent drama of elite sport.
Following SunRisers Hyderabad’s five-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings – a result that sealed SRH’s playoff berth – Kishan triggered a massive backlash online by mimicking CSK’s iconic ‘Whistle Podu’ gesture and gesturing to the MA Chidambaram Stadium crowd to pack up and leave.
While the Chennai faithful have flooded social media to condemn the act as “arrogant” and “disrespectful”, local hero Ashwin has adopted a pragmatic approach, viewing the incident as raw, unfiltered entertainment rather than malice.
“I want to talk about the super reliable player of the day, Ishan Kishan,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel, addressing the elephant in the digital room.
“But I won’t go too deep into it. A lot is being discussed on social media about the celebration he did after the match. Let it go, yaar (friend). These are all sportsmen, emotions are part of the game. Don’t take it personally, enjoy it.”
The veteran off-spinner questioned why a piece of on-field theatre had been elevated to a matter of personal insult.
“Every player here represents India in cricket. A player has come and celebrated in front of you – why bring ego into it? Leave it, enjoy it,” Ashwin argued. “If all this is not there, then where is the fun? Where is the drama?”
A WORD OF CAUTION
While Ashwin was quick to defend the emotional nature of the outburst, he did concede that the young wicketkeeper-batsman walked a fine line with his direct engagement with the stands. Having conquered one of the toughest places to visit, Ishan Kishan’s emotions were understandably high after his match-winning effort.
“Maybe next time, Ishan can keep the celebration a little more controlled, especially with what he said towards the crowd. I mean, can it be avoided? It can be. But I enjoyed it,” Ashwin admitted.
“It’s not easy for another team to come to someone else’s home ground and beat a team like [CSK].* But they did it, right? After such a big loss in the previous game, they came back and won this. Let it go. A sportsman is telling you, ‘I have come to your home ground and beaten you.’ That’s all.”
“Keep it in mind as fans and as a team – next time go to Hyderabad and beat them there, then give it back,” Ashwin said. “But do it in a very respectful manner.”
SRH will now be looking to finish in the top two of the points table. The 2016 champions will take on table-toppers Royal Challengers Bengaluru on May 22 in Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, the Super Kings, who are all but out of contention, will take on Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on May 21.
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