It is very easy to criticise on social media: R Ashwin defends Hardik Pandya-led India after WI T20Is loss

Hardik Pandya-led India lost the five-match T20I series to West Indies, in Florida, on Sunday (August 13) after an eight-wicket loss in the series finale. Opting to bat first, India rode on Suryakumar Yadav's 45-ball 61 to post 165 for 9. In reply, Rovman Powell & Co. rode on opener Brandan King's 85 not out, Nicholas Pooran's 35-ball 47 and Shai Hope's 13-ball 22* to chase down the score in 18 overs. With this defeat, India conceded their first-ever T20I series. The Windies, on the other hand, gained their maiden bilateral series win over India, with a minimum of three games, since their 4-1 ODI series win at home in 2006.

A lot of fingers were raised on the Indian team management following HardiK & Co.'s series loss. The Men in Blue conceded a 2-0 lead to the hosts before bouncing back and levelling the series at 2-2. However, they were outplayed in the final game as the series defeat exposed India's lack of batting depth and raised questions on Hardik's captaincy. Amid criticism from all corners, veteran Indian off-spinner R Ashwin has come out in support of the T20I line-up.

'Easy to criticise the team on social media'

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Ashwin said on his YouTube channel, "There are plenty of positives from this T20I series. It is very easy to criticise the team on social media since they lost to a team that didn't qualify for the last T20 World Cup. They haven't qualified for the upcoming 50-over World Cup as well. I want to give a piece of information to you guys."

'They will definitely get better'

Ashwin further pointed out, "I am not talking, backing, or supporting anybody. All of these are secondary. As a youngster, if you are going to the West Indies, there will be some challenges. In all countries, there will be some innate secrets. The local players know these things more than visiting players. Especially if the players are young. When I went to West Indies, England, Australia, I had to learn various little things...these are first-time experience for me as a cricketer. So, youngsters would have learned a lot from this tour. They will definitely get better form here."

"Losing the the series 3-2 to West Indies...many of them are criticising and upset. It's okay and understandable. It's only fair, I guess. But we can see this loss from two perspectives. The players will get experience from this series," the 36-year-old concluded.

A second-stringed Indian team, under Jasprit Bumrah, have now left for Ireland where they will play three T20Is before the focus shifts entirely on the ODI format with the Asia Cup 2023, starting on August 30, and home ODI World Cup (in October-November) in the pipeline.

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