Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin urged young players to exercise caution in public areas on Friday, calling Riyan Parag’s vaping incident during an IPL match something that should have been prevented.
During the match against Punjab Kings, the captain of the Rajasthan Royals, who has been struggling in the current IPL, was caught vaping on camera.
The Assam cricketer was fined 25% of his match fees by the BCCI for “bringing the game to disrepute” and is prohibited from smoking or vaping any type of electronic device.
“I think this is totally a situation that could have been avoided. I want players not to get trapped in such things. I don’t really want that for a young player, and this is a little sensitive, too. I think, on all quadrants, if we look at so many things, this could have been avoided,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
As a senior cricketer giving advice, he emphasized the need of keeping private decisions out of the public eye, saying, “Sometimes what happens…it’s a personal choice, but your personal choice should be in your personal space. If you do all this in a public space, that can very well be avoided.”
After that, Ashwin gave Parag, who he had played with at the Royals, some guidance.
“All I would say is this: it’s my small advice as an elder brother. I want to tell Riyan Parag that, whatever happens in your personal life, nobody has any concern about it. Nobody can say anything about that. But whatever you do, do it in your personal space, because you are a captain, you are a franchise leader.
“You are probably an inspiration for many cricketers, many youth, many young Indians, and young people around the world. So there is some responsibility too,” he added.
But Ashwin felt sorry for the young cricketer. “I have my deepest empathy and sympathy for the young kid, but at the same time, I totally believe all these things should and can be avoided,” he added.
“It can’t be easy. In today’s world, I also sometimes read things and think, I mean, sometimes this happens. I’m not saying these things should be let go under the carpet, because if action isn’t taken, nobody will learn from it. But it is better to avoid these things,” Ashwin emphasized the need for taking lessons from the incident.
