Watch: Shikhar Dhawan Leaves Ravichandran Ashwin Red-Faced After Mankad Attempt
Ravichandran Ashwin seems to have made Mankading batsmen a habit. He had caused a furore in the cricketing fraternity in the very first week of the ongoing Indian Premier League by Mankading Jos Buttler. The India ace had faced widespread criticism for the dismissal that is very much legal but is widely considered against the spirit of the game. Well, Ashwin tried to Mankad another batsman on Saturday and this time he was none other than his India teammate and Delhi Capitals star Shikhar Dhawan.
The incident took place when Kings XI Punjab were taking on Delhi Capitals at the Feroz Shah Kolta on Saturday. In the 13th over, Ravichandran Ashwin tried to Mankad Dhawan who was leading the charge for Delhi Capitals in their chase of 164. However, Dhawan was standing well within his crease and Ashwin had no option but to turn back and return to his delivery stride again. Dhawan then mocked Ashwin by doing a mini dance at the non-striker’s end.
Dhawan, nonetheless, scored 56 as Delhi Capitals thrashed Kings XI Punjab by five wickets to get back to winning ways. Skipper Shreyas Iyer top-scored for Delhi, scoring an unbeaten 58 to help his side cross the line with two balls to spare. With 6 wins from 10 games, Delhi have now taken a huge step towards reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2012.
Meanwhile, here is the clip showing Ravichandran Ashwin trying to Mankad Shikhar Dhawan:
WATCH: Shikhar's dance moves on the crease
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Last month, Ashwin had given his take on Mankad too. The off-spinner had clearly stated that he did nothing wrong as Mankading the non-strikers are clearly in the rule books.
“You can debate about it. It’s up to people’s perception what they believe it is,” Ashwin told AajTak. “But to me, like I said, it’s all about conscience. Before some 10 years, there was a rule wherein you warn somebody and then do it.”
“See, there have been even debates about whether I waited for him to leave the crease. But what people don’t understand is I hadn’t even reached the crease when he started walking away. Once I complete my action, I can’t go down and hit the stumps.
“I will have to wait and then only flip the stumps. It makes no sense to me. There will be no end to this. People will keep giving their opinions,” he added.
