Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who holds the pole position in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers, was left out of India’s WTC final playing XI against Australia earlier this month.

After India lost the match by a huge margin of 209 runs, the move to drop Ashwin was questioned by the cricket fans and experts.

Days after the WTC final loss, Ashwin opened up on being benched for the marquee clash and also talked about the current team culture in cricket.

“This is an era where everybody is a colleague. Once upon a time when cricket was played, all your teammates were friends. Now, they’re colleagues. There’s a big difference because here people are there to advance themselves and to stride ahead of another person sitting to your right or left. So nobody’s got the time to say, ‘okay, boss what are you upto’?" Ashwin told The Indian Express.

“In fact, I believe cricket gets better when you share it. It gets better when you when you understand another person’s technique and another person’s journey. But it doesn’t happen anywhere close to how much it must happen. Nobody will come for your help. It’s an isolated journey," he added.

Ashwin’s comment created quite a buzz on social media and former India head coach Ravi Shastri recently reacted to it.

Known for his outspoken nature, Shastri said there will always be colleagues no matter whether it's the dressing room or the commentary box.

“For me, it was always colleagues. You will have buddies who are colleagues. I mean... how many close friends do anyone have? If you go and ask anyone, they will say 4-5... in their life! I'm happy with 5 close friends in my life, I don't want more than that,” Shastri told The Week.

“What I'm saying is, all the time colleagues. Commentary box, colleagues,” he further added.

Ashwin will be next seen in action during the Test tour of West Indies, starting July 12 in Dominica.