'Spirit of Cricket Yet Again, Sorry': R Ashwin on Mohammad Nabi's Extra-run Controversy in 3rd T20I

Ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has come in support of Mohammadi Nabi in the extra run controversy during the third T20I between India and Afghanistan. The incident happened on the final over of the first super over of the third T20I, when Nabi who was looking to snatch a run found himself amid a contentious situation. Sanju Samson’s throw from behind the stumps struck Nabi’s leg, deflecting towards long-on and enabling the batsmen to snatch two additional runs.

Meanwhile, India captain Rohit Sharma was not impressed with the Afghan taking the runs as had an argument with Nabi for taking extra runs against the essence of the game.

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Rohit walked up to the umpire, livid, and argued that the ball was deflected off his pads and Nabi should not have run for the extra 2 runs in the end.

However, the on-field umpires deemed the runs legitimate, setting off a storm of opinions on sportsmanship.

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra and the head coach of the Indian team, Rahul Dravid, defended Nabi’s decision, asserting that any player would have seized the opportunity in a high-stakes scenario.

Indian off-spinner Ashwin also shared his stance on the matter, dismissing the talk about the ‘spirit of cricket.’

Ashwin emphasized a batter’s right to take a run when a fielder attempts to get them run out, and the ball deflects off their body. “When a fielder throws to get me run out and the ball deflects off my body, I am within my right to run. Spirit of cricket, yet again, sorry,” said Ashwin on his YouTube channel.

Acknowledging the disappointment within the Indian camp, Ashwin added that irritations naturally arise when a team feels affected on the field. He highlighted the subjective nature as he said that the affected team gets irritated when of such situations happen on the field.

“Virat Kohli stopped the ball with his leg and wondered what was happening. There are two sides to this story. If we are the affected party on the field, we’ll get irritated with whatever happens. ‘We might not have done this if we were on the field’ – that is our personal opinion and view,” Ashwin added.