"Felt like doing it even more....": Ashwin on controversy after running out Buttler at non-striker's end

During the 2019 clash between the Punjab Kings (PBKS) and the Rajasthan Royals (RR), Ashwin, then representing PBKS, ran out Buttler at the non-strikers' end as the batter tried to move out of his crease before the ball was bowled. This generated a lot of talk and controversy around the concept of fair play, spirit of the game, and it was met with mixed reactions from social media. While some fans cited that doing so is well within the cricketing laws, the others felt that Ashwin should have warned Buttler about stepping out of his crease to preserve the 'spirit of the game'.

Speaking on 'JioHotstar' on 'The Ravichandran Ashwin Experience', recalling the incident and the controversy generated, he said, "A lot of people talk about character, say this is wrong, or that the player is wrong. After hearing all that, I felt like doing it even more, not to prove a point to people. There was a moment when I was Captain against Mumbai, and we needed two runs. I was at extra cover and told the bowler to run him out at the non-striker's end. The batter ran, but the bowler refused because people say it is wrong. If the ICC felt this was an honesty problem, they would not keep it in the rules."

Ashwin said that Buttler's attempt to run early was not his problem and he did it (run out Buttler) "to win".

"If you need two runs off one ball and you start running early, whose fault is it? People say Jos Buttler did not try to run, but that's not my problem. People also say I did it to win. Of course, I did it to win. What is there to be ashamed of? After I ran him out, I called the team and said, 'This will look different to them, they will lose, do not worry about the reaction, I will handle the media, we just have to win.' And we won. So, there is no issue of character in this," he added.

PBKS won the match while defending 185 runs, restricting RR to 170/9. Ashwin bowled a four-over spell of 1/20.

Ashwin also went on to question why bowlers do not attempt the run out at non-strikers' end more and pointed out that the move has become "a kind of societal pressure" with the debate around it if its right or not.

"This started with umpires asking Captains if they want to withdraw the appeal. If you withdraw, you are seen as good, which is also wrong, because you let your bowler down in front of everyone. This decision should belong to the bowler and giving out or not is the umpire's job. Why make a rule so complex? Like LBW, this is also out. Many cricketers tweeted that this is bad. My answer is simple: I did not steal, I didn't do anything wrong, I played within the laws. Those who talk like this, I can file a case against them in court. What they are doing is character assassination. I am very proud of it, I will continue to be, and whoever does it, I will praise them even more," he said. (ANI)