Ashwin's Blunt Take On India's Dubai Advantage Controversy: 'Tournaments Are Won On Performances, Not Excuses' (Source: BCCI)
R Ashwin opened up on the controversy surrounding India playing all their matches of the ICC Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Stadium. India refused to tour Pakistan for the showpiece event which forced the PCB to agree to the hybrid model, with Dubai being chosen as the venue for India's matches. While other teams travelled between cities and played on different tracks, India avoided any such hassle.
The issue was brought up by Michael Vaughan and Michael Atherton and got the backing of South Africa batters Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller. Ashwin gave a blunt reply to the critics and said that tournaments are won on performances and not excuses. He cited the example of South Africa in 2009 Champions Trophy where they played all matches at one venue yet failed to qualify for the final.
“Tournaments are won on the basis of performances, not excuses,” Ashwin said on his Hindi YouTube channel “Ash Ki Baat.”
“I am laughing when people ask our captain and coach the same question about having an advantage playing in Dubai. In the 2009 Champions Trophy, South Africa played all their games at the same venue and even then they failed to qualify for the knockouts. It was not South Africa’s fault that they didn’t qualify then. Teams qualified only because they play good cricket,” he said.
India have played terrific cricket in the ICC Champions Trophy and reached the final undefeated. Ashwin said India qualified for the summit clash because they played solid cricket. Ashwin took a dig at critics and said people should not fall for any narrative, adding that India never complains about the conditions when they tour overseas but they are always blamed for making spin-friendly pitches at home.
“India is in the final because they have played solid 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.
“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.
“If India wins this trophy, we will be winning the title back-to-back. Let’s celebrate them. Don’t buy into this narrative.”
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