Ravichandran Ashwin has come out in support of Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya, who faced a hostile reception in Ahmedabad in the match against his former franchise Gujarat Titans.

Ashwin squarely blamed the prevailing atmosphere of “fan wars” and “cinema culture” for the treatment meted out to Pandya by the spectators and on social media.

“Fan wars should never go this ugly... One should remember which country these players represent; our country. So, then what warrants a cricketer getting booed?

“I don’t understand. If you don’t like a player and boo a player, why should a team come out to issue a clarification,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

“This is cricket, and there is a prevalent cinema culture. I know there are things like marketing, positioning and branding. I agree with all that. But I don’t believe in all this, but it’s not wrong to indulge in either,” said Ashwin.

The off-spinner said neither the player nor the Mumbai team management owed an explanation on the issue.

“Neither has any role to play. Neither the franchise nor the player has a role to play in this at all. I think the responsibility and the onus lies on the fans,” he said.

Ashwin said toxicity has increased among Indian fans. “Have you seen this happen in any other country? Have you seen fans of Joe Root and Zak Crawley fight? Have you seen fans of Joe Root and Jos Buttler fight?

“Have you seen Steve Smith and Pat Cummins fans fight in Australia,” Ashwin said. “Sourav Ganguly played under Sachin Tendulkar and vice versa. These two have both played under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy. These three have played under Anil Kumble and all of them have played under Dhoni.

“When they were under Dhoni, these players were cricket jambhavans (veterans). Dhoni too played under Virat (Kohli),” he added.