Polarising Indian spinner Ravi Ashwin is once again at the centre of a controversial moment in the IPL, involved in a heated clash with England’s Eoin Morgan.
Just two years after he was roundly criticised for his ‘Mankad’ on Morgan’s teammate Jos Buttler, Ashwin incurred the wrath of the Englishman by taking a questionable run.
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The incident occurred in the penultimate over of the Delhi Capitals’ innings, when Ashwin called teammate Rishabh Pant through for an extra run after the ball had deflected off Pant during a run out attempt.
After Ashwin was dismissed a few deliveries later, he had to be held back by Kolkata Knight Riders wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik after reacting to a fierce send-off from Morgan.
Like the infamous Mankad, batters are not officially forbidden from running after the ball ricochets off them, but it is usually frowned upon.
Ashwin’s act was condemned by the two commentators, Simon Doull and Sunil Gavaskar, with Doull saying the pair “really shouldn’t have run for that”, while Gavaskar agreed saying: “Generally batsmen don’t run if the ball hits them”.
Following the match, which the Knight Riders won by three wickets, Karthik discussed the incident involving his old international teammate.
“I do not think Morgan appreciates that he is someone when the ball hits the batter, he expects them not to run because of the spirit of cricket,” he said.
“It is a very grey area, a very interesting topic. I have my own opinion on it, but I can just say I am happy to play peacemaker.”
Ashwin is no stranger to confrontations on a cricket field and made sure he would return serve with the ball, giving Morgan a fierce send-off of his own after dismissing the England skipper for a duck later on in the match.