India cricket star Rishabh Pant's fans have slammed model-turned-actress Urvashi Rautela for making controversial claims about the wicketkeeper-batter.

The netizens accused the movie star of creating an unnecessary row ahead of a crucial tournament like the Asia Cup and impacting Rishabh Pant's peace of mind.

Others claimed that Urvashi Rautela was not only obsessed with Rishabh Pant but was stalking the 24-year-old left-hander.

https://twitter.com/riseup_pant/status/1557797085876850689

The mounting criticism of the former beauty queen came after the war of words between her and Rishabh Pant escalated with Urvashi Rautela hitting back at the cricketer, calling him “Chotu bhaiya” in a hard-hitting post on Instagram on Thursday night.

Urvashi Rautela wrote: “Chotu bhaiya should play bat ball. Main koi munni badnaam nahi hoon badnam hone with young kiddo darling tere liye (I won't be shamed because of a kid like you).”

Urvashi Rautela included the hashtags #RPChotuBhaiyya, #DontTakeAdvantageOfASilentGirl and #CougarHunter,” in her caption for the post.

Urvashi Rautela's latest swipe at the cricketer was in response to Rishabh Pant's dig at her after the actress name-dropped the wicketkeeper batter in a recent interview, labeling him as “Mr. RP”.

“It's funny how people lie in interviews just for some meagre popularity and for hitting the headlines. Sad how some people are so thirsty for fame and name. May God bless them “merapichachorhoBehen #Jhutkibhilimithotihai,” Rishabh Pant in his viral Instagram story which he later deleted.

“I was shooting in Varanasi, and I had a show in New Delhi thereon, so I had to take a flight. In New Delhi, I was shooting a full day, and after about 10 hours of shooting, when I went back, I had to get ready, and you know that girls take a lot of time to get ready. Mr. RP came, he sat in the lobby, and waited for me, and he wanted to meet. I was so tired that I dozed off to sleep, and I didn't realize that I had received so many calls,” Urvashi Rautela said in an interview with Bollywood Hungama.

“So, when I woke up, I saw 16-17 missed calls, and I felt so bad that someone was waiting for me, and I didn't go. Out of respect, because a lot of girls don't care about making someone wait, out of that show of respect, I told him that let's meet when you'll come to Mumbai. We met in Mumbai, and the paps surrounded us, and the other day it became such big news.

“I won’t add much to this, but it's just that it's very important to give respect to the other person, but I feel like media exaggerates even the smallest thing that is under development and ruins it completely,” she stated.

A couple of years ago, speculations were rife that Rishabh Pant and Urvashi Rautela were dating and the India dasher had blocked the movie star on WhatsApp and the relationship between the couple soured. Subsequently, news emerged the pair had decided to part ways mutually as they realized that the two had varied interests and were not gelling well together.

Former beauty queen Urvashi Rautela has featured in movies like Hate Story 4, Sanam Re, Pagalpanti, Great Grand Masti, and Singh Saab The Great.

On the other hand, Rishabh Pant's stock has been on the rise in Team India. Last month, he broke a clutch of records with his performances in England.

With his scores of 146 and 57 in the fifth Test against England at Edgbaston, Rishabh Pant became the first visiting wicketkeeper to make more than 200 runs in a single Test match. Previously, the record was held by West Indies great Clyde Walcott who had made 14 and 168* in a Test against England at Lord's in 1950.

Rishabh Pant followed his scintillating performance in Birmingham by slamming his maiden ODI century in the third ODI against England at Old Trafford.

En route to his knock of 125 not out, Rishabh Pant broke MS Dhoni’s record for the highest score by a wicketkeeper-batter in a successful run-chase in SENA countries.

MS Dhoni remained unbeaten on 87 in a 50-over game against Australia in 2019 to guide India to their maiden bilateral series triumph Down Under. Rishabh Pant, however, broke that record with a fair margin as he smashed a scintillating 125* against the Jos Buttler-led side.

Rishabh Pant will be back in action in the Asia Cup later this month.

The prestigious continental competition starts in the UAE on August 27.

The Uttarakhand-born dasher last appeared for India in the T20I series against the West Indies last week, helping the visitors win the series 4-1.