Ravichandran Ashwin is the first Indian capped player to play in Major League Cricket (MLC), although he proved quite expensive in his debut match. A photo of him with a Pakistani cricketer is going viral.

R Ashwin, Haris Rauf MLC 2026

Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin is playing in Major League Cricket, where his team includes several Pakistani cricketers. A photo of him sitting with Haris Rauf is going viral on social media. The team, captained by Matt Short, defeated the Texas Super Kings by 7 wickets in their second match.

Ashwin-Rauf's photo goes viral.

Political relations between India and Pakistan are strained, which also impacts cricket. Pakistani cricketers are banned from the Indian league, the IPL, while India does not play any bilateral series with Pakistan. The two face each other only in ICC or ACC tournaments. Now, Indian players don't even shake hands with Pakistani players before or after matches.

The same phenomenon is evident in women's cricket. During the ongoing Women's T20 World Cup, Harmanpreet Kaur refused to shake hands with the Pakistani captain. A photo of the Indian and Pakistani players sitting together is going viral on social media.

The photo was taken by Haris Rauf, in which Ravichandran Ashwin is seen sitting next to him. However, Ashwin is not looking at the camera. It should be noted that both are playing for the San Francisco Unicorns in Major League Cricket 2026.

Ashwin proved expensive in the first match

Ravichandran Ashwin played his first match for the San Francisco Unicorns on Sunday. Texas batted first and scored 152 runs, but Ashwin didn't bowl a full four overs. He conceded 24 runs in just two overs, leaving no wickets.