The infamous mankading dismissal involving Jos Buttler and R Ashwin from the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League still remains to be one of the most talked-about dismissals in the shortest format of the game.
Ashwin had stirred a major debate in the Indian cricketing fraternity when he had managed to Mankad Rajasthan Royals’ Jos Buttler during his time with Kings XI Punjab in IPL 2019 season.
Well, recently, in an interview with the Times of India, R Ashwin opened up on the incident and revealed that Jos Buttler was quite deflated and upset about what had happened. While Ashwin said that he has no regrets over what he did, but he also admitted that he can understand the emotions that the Englishman went through. He said:
“When the incident happened, I think it was Jos who felt deflated about it and quite upset. Rightly so, because it’s not accepted practice. It’s not something that happens day in and day out. I can totally understand that.”
He added: “If the batter just holds his ground till the ball is released, then there’s never any issue. I’ve been run out that way twice in my career. So hopefully, I’ve learned my lesson now. It’s hard sometimes to describe the emotion. You’re trying hard for your team and you’re always desperate to win. Of course, it’s a surprise when you get out like that. It doesn’t bother me what people’s opinions are about it. If you just stay in the crease, then there’s never going to be a talking point,”
While, Ashwin has on record said that he doesn’t regret his decision, on the other hand, Buttler admitted that he has learned his lesson from the dismissal. Buttler said:
“Whether it’s going to be accepted or not accepted widely by different quadrants of the cricketing community is something that we’ll have to wait and watch. But the pace at which the game is going, the professionals are evolving and how the players are perceiving the game, I just hope and wish that it is looked upon as a legitimate form of dismissal. But whether somebody chooses to do it, or not to do it, is entirely up to them and it’s not a question of character assassination.”
