Veteran India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Tuesday (February 16) weighed in on the raging debate over the Chepauk pitch for the second Test between India and England.

According to Ashwin, fans and India’s cricket community shouldn’t be bothered by the accusations of preparing tailor-made pitches.

Ashwin’s comments came after India’s thumping 317-run victory over England in the second Test, which also helped the hosts to level the four-Test series 1-1.

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"Look, it is us who are getting bothered by all this," Ashwin said when asked if it's high time that England and Australian teams acknowledge their lack of skills in countering quality spin bowling on tracks offering turn.

"I mean everybody is entitled an opinion, whoever is giving their opinion are totally well within their rights to give their own opinion. I think, it is us who are reading into it and seeing if it is working or not...so we as a cricketing fraternity or as a country, dealing with such sort of accusations, need to get a little better. We must just hold pride in saying how we are playing good cricket," he added.

Ashwin also pointed out that neither the Indian cricketers nor the country's former stalwarts raise questions about seaming tracks in overseas conditions.

"I am completely fine with how they (English pundits) have their opinions, because we will also have our opinions reserved when we tour abroad but we don't complain or crib, we just get on with it," he said.

"I have never seen any of our greats – be it our coach Ravi Shastri or Sunil Gavaskar, they have been on lots of tours, talk about pitches having a lot of grass or all those things."

A number of former cricketers from England and Australia, including Michael Vaughan and Mark Waugh, have termed the Chepauk pitch for the second Test as "under-prepared". However, India managed to post 600+ runs on the same strip across the two innings in which England got bowled out for 134 and 164 respectively.

"I think it's more of mentality, when people come out with such opinions we should respect them but I think we should be able to magnanimously deflect then away from what they are saying," Ashwin remarked.

The off-spinner also cited an example of a rookie Australian cricketer to put forward his point that how unfairly India’s young cricketers are treated.

"Okay, let me say this and I never thought I would say this. About two months back, there was a cricketer called Cameron Green, who made his debut for Australia. Even before he made his debut, everybody said that he was the 'Next Big Thing'.

"I think he got 150 runs in the entire series (vs India) and didn't get a wicket, but how much he was rated and built up (hyped) made me reflect how we as a community treat our cricketers. It gave me a massive perspective."

"They play for the country and at times, it feels you know that we are searching as to what's wrong with them. Rishabh Pant was always going to be a good cricketer and was always going to improve.

"Only if we back them in such a way that we want them to improve, they will improve faster," he said.

According to Ashwin, it's not Pant who needs to change but all those who judge him.

"...if we are going to find loopholes and faults, the cricketers are going to take that much longer. I think it's more of a mindset issue for us and we should embrace how good a cricketer he is.

"We tend to see a lot of negatives. If we see a lot more positives, we will see a lot more champion cricketers."

(With PTI inputs)