Ravichandran Ashwin saw nothing wrong with his decision to run Jos Buttler out at the non-striker's end for backing up too far in their Indian Premier League match.
The law is on the side of the bowler, but Buttler's controversial dismissal on Monday, 25 March, when his Rajasthan Royals took on Kings XI Punjab, sparked the 'Spirit of Cricket' debate.
The law 41.16, that was tweaked in April 2017, states: "If the non-striker is out of his/her ground from the moment the ball comes into play to the instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball, the bowler is permitted to attempt to run him/her out."
Buttler and Ashwin exchanged words after the Englishman's dismissal – AFP Buttler and Ashwin exchanged words after the Englishman's dismissal – AFP
While delivering the fifth ball of the 13th over, Ashwin stopped in his delivery stride. The side-on angle showed that Buttler was still inside the crease when Ashwin's foot landed. But soon he took a couple of steps out of the crease and Ashwin turned around to whip the bails off at the bowler's end.
Ashwin defended his decision in the post-match press conference, saying, "Look, it was very instinctive. It was not planned or anything like that. It's there within the rules of the game. I don't understand where the spirit of the game comes. Naturally if it's there in the rules it's there.
"I don't understand the point of sporting or sportive in that point because it's rules."
Buttler was livid and there was a heated exchange between the two players as he walked back to the pavilion. Paddy Upton, the coach, was none too pleased either.
"I think R Ashwin's actions speak for him and represent him," Upton said. "When I looked into the eyes of his team-mates, I'm not sure it represented his team-mates and I think we'll leave it up to the IPL fans to decide if that's the kind of things they want to see and we'll leave it to the cricket world to judge R Ashwin's actions tonight.
"But for us, we certainly are here just to play cricket and entertain the fans and just be good role models for people who love the game."
Some experts pointed out that Buttler had not actually left the crease when Ashwin stopped in his delivery stride, meaning he could not be given out as per the rules. Uptown agreed this was something the teams would need clarity on.
"I would still like to go and have a close look at the legality of it," he said. "But for us, the reality is Ashwin appealed and the umpire gave it out. That's what we need to deal with.
"The legality is a separate issue, and probably a lot of teams are going to look more closely at that issue. I'd like to hope that the rest of the IPL continues in the spirit that we're all here to come here and enjoy."
Buttler scored a 43-ball 69 before being run out at the non-striker's end by Ashwin – AFP Buttler scored a 43-ball 69 before being run out at the non-striker's end by Ashwin – AFP
The dismissal ended Buttler's knock at 69, and Rajasthan fell short by 15 runs while chasing the 185 set by Punjab. The coach, though, was proud of his team.
"Jos Buttler was amazing while he was batting and for a lot of the game we batted like we wanted and really set ourselves up for victory," he said. "I thought the players were able to stay focussed and reset themselves after that run-out. I was very happy with the players themselves, the way they acted and responded to that situation. And our conscious decision was to hold our heads up high and maintain our dignity as a team."
Ashwin, however, refused to acknowledge the opener's dismissal as the turning point of the game and instead hailed Sam Curran's double-wicket 17th over as the watershed moment. "Sam [Curran] had a bad day with the ball, but he came back well. Everybody ticked their boxes. We do have a few options amongst us, but if we can have good five overs, there is nothing like it," he said.
https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/1116922
....isn’t it in the spirit of the game to walk as well.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KickRocks?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KickRocks</a></p>— Tino95 (@tinobest) <a href="https://twitter.com/tinobest/status/1110304011759038465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2019</a></blockquote>
