Ravichandran Ashwin has “no regrets” whatsoever after ‘Mankading’ Jos Buttler in the current edition of the IPL and said he certainly won’t be surprised if he finds England pacer James Anderson doing the same in the near future.
Recently, a video emerged where Anderson was seen ripping Ashwin’s picture into shreds post the ‘Mankading’ incident in the Rajasthan Royals-Kings XI Punjab match.
“Today, Jimmy Anderson might feel that whatever I did was wrong. Maybe tomorrow he might end up doing it. Who knows, it is all a question of the perception of right and wrong.
“I don’t think in this case it is necessary because it (‘Mankading’) is part of the law and I did it,” Ashwin told a news channel.
The senior India off-spinner is clear that what he did was within the purview of the playing conditions. “For everybody who know how I am, it is very clear to them that I don’t do anything that is illegal.
“Even my team has stood behind me since then. A lot many players have come to me and said whatever I did was absolutely right,” Ashwin said.
Asked if the controversy has affected him, Ashwin answered: “Not really. It hasn’t affected me at all. I am very happy for the fact that they (former and current England players) are standing up for their fellow countryman.
“I definitely do think that my countrymen have also stood up for me. And it is only fair that your peers stand up for you,” he said.
Ashwin said that the debate on this incident could keep on going. “There have even been debates about whether I waited for him to walk out of the crease. But what people don’t understand is that I hadn’t even reached the crease and he started walking away. Once your action is complete, you cannot go down and hit the stumps,” he said.
On the other hand, Buttler wants authorities to address the ‘wishy-washy” areas in the law dealing with the controversial dismissal. “Of course, ‘Mankading’ has to be in the laws of the game because a batsman can’t just run halfway down the pitch trying to get a head start,” the Royals opener and England wicketkeeper-batsman told a cricket-specific website.
“But I do think that the way the law is written, there is a bit of a grey area in that saying, ‘when a bowler is expected to release the ball’. That is a bit of a wishy-washy statement.”
Buttler felt that the decision made by the umpires that led to his dismissal was wrong. “If you look at the footage, probably the wrong decision was made because at the time he (Ashwin) was expected to release the ball, I was in my crease. It was a really disappointing way to start the tournament,” Buttler said.