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Ravichandran Ashwin is not impressed with Rishabh Pant’s decision to withdraw a run-out appeal against Royal Challengers Bengaluru stand-in skipper Jitesh Sharma at the non-striker’s during Tuesday’s Indian Premier League (IPL) game.
In the 17th over of the match, during RCB’s tense chase, Lucknow Super Giants’ Digvesh Rathi took off the bails after observing that Jitesh had left the crease at the non-striker’s end.
Though the batter was outside the crease, the decision went in Jitesh’s favour since the bowler had completed his delivery stride.
While it all unfolded, Pant withdrew the appeal following which Jitesh hugged the fellow wicketkeeper-batter. RCB went on to win the game by six wickets.
Ashwin, who has been a vocal supporter of ‘Mankading’, said Pant should have backed his bowler.
“Let me dive into the technicalities of this incident. Is Jitesh Sharma justified in being out if he stepped out of the crease before he (Rathi) got into the delivery stride? Yes, he is justified in being given out and the bowler is also well-justified,” he said on his YouTube show.
“Digvesh Rathi landed at the front foot and Jitesh Sharma was inside the crease. So, in all technical possibilities, this is not out. And what happened? After hitting the stump, (umpire) Michael Gough asked Digvesh Rathi (but) he didn’t ask him, ‘are you sure?’ He asked him whether he was appealing.
“He (Rathi) said, ‘yes, I am appealing’. So, he (Gough) went to the third umpire and the third umpire took the right decision. He said, ‘he has crossed his delivery stride, the batsman is inside the crease, I have a decision, not out,’” Ashwin added.
The Indian spin legend, however, added he did not like Pant taking back the appeal.
“Now, till now, everything is fine. Bowler has hit, appealed, not out. It’s just another day in the office. But what happened? After this, during the match (the) commentators said, ‘Rishabh Pant has withdrawn the appeal. What an amazing act of sportsmanship!’ Come on, yaar. Let’s grow out of this. I am asking one question. Think about it, Digvesh Rathi is your son. Whoever is watching this video, he is your son, and Digvesh Rathi’s captain has criticised his decision in front of crores of people.
“It’s actually gone over the board because, look, a captain’s job is actually to back a player. Alright? A captain’s job is to not make a bowler feel small. By making this decision of pulling away an appeal, he should have done it earlier,” he added.
Ashwin said while such matters are already discussed within teams and between two opponents before a game, Rathi could be vilified for his act.
“We don’t know if he already spoke to them (LSG camp) or not. But let’s stop this vilification of that youngster in front of crores and crores of people. Do we do that to anybody else? Why does a bowler look small? It is actually a humiliation,” Ashwin opined.
“What happens is (that) a bowler feels so small that he will never do it and people will say in the comment section that he should not do it. Why? Why shouldn’t he do it?,” Ashwin added.
“Digvesh Rathi is not my relative. He is not my friend. I don’t know who he is. But I am saying… You will scar a bowler so much that it will really affect him. But because nobody really cares about a bowler. So, in front of crores of people, should we withdraw his appeal and insult him?,” he asked.
