Former India cricketer Laxman Sivaramakrishnan on Saturday (September 30) took the internet by storm for his explosive rant against veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

Sivaramakrishnan questioned Ashwin’s credentials as a spin bowler in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) countries. He also claimed that the pitches in India are doctored for Ashwin to take wickets in Test matches.

Screenshots of him calling Ashwin “liability fielder” and “most unfit cricketer” also went viral on social media. As a result, he also faced a lot of flak.

Amid the backlash, however, Sivaramakrishnan claimed that he received a call from Ashwin to discuss his bowling action.

In his post on X (formerly Twitter), the former leg-spinner also mentioned that Ashwin was as shocked as him over the venom directed towards him by trolls.

“Ravi Ashwin was nice enough to call me just a while ago to discuss his bowling action. He was as shocked with the venom of the trolls as I was . Also clarified that the people involved are in NO WAY connected to him. GOOD LUCK @ashwinravi99 Do us proud,” Sivaramakrishnan wrote.

Talking about Ashwin, he recently replaced Akshar Patel in India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming ODI World Cup as the latter failed to recover from his quadriceps injury.

Akshar’s injury also paved the way for Ashwin’s selection in the recently held ODI series against Australia, where the latter played the first two games and repaid the faith of the selectors and team management.

Ashwin returned with bowling figures of 1/47 (10 overs) in the series opener in Mohali. He continued his brilliance in the second ODI in Indore, picking up three wickets in his seven overs by conceding 41 runs.

Ashwin is expected to play a key role for India in the World Cup, slated to get underway on October 5. India will open their campaign against Australia in Chennai on October 8.