Home
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) spinner Digvesh Rathi made headlines on Tuesday for trying to run-out Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) skipper Jitesh Sharma on the non-striker's end during the 17th over of the innings.
Rishabh Pant withdrew Digvesh Rathi's appeal against Jitesh Sharma
Though the 25-year-old made a big appeal, LSG skipper Rishabh Pant ended up withdrawing it and the on-field umpires also declared it as not-out based on the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) laws. Following the incident, debates once again arose over the controversial mode of dismissal. Speaking about the incident, former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin backed Rathi and criticized Pant for not supporting the young spinner.
"As an owner of LSG, I will be thinking that I need Jitesh Sharma's wicket. If he has stepped outside the crease, he is out. Now let me dive into the technicality of the incident. Is he justified in being out if he stepped outside the crease before Digvesh Rathi got into the delivery stride? Yes. Would it be bad for RCB? Yes, again, because they would not have liked Rathi or Pant if they did that," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel 'Ash ki Baat'.
"Now let's dive into the real-case scenario. When Rathi landed his front foot, Jitesh was inside the crease. So, this was not out. After breaking the stumps, umpire Michael Gough asked him whether he was appealing, and not whether he was sure. He said, 'Yes, I'm appealing.' So the decision went to the third umpire, and the right decision was made," he added.
Ashwin felt that rather than withdrawing the appeal, Pant should have backed Rathi rather than making the spinner feel 'small'. The former cricketer added that the youngster will never try to use the mode of dismissal again after facing such humiliation.
"Until now, everything was right. But after that, commentators started saying that 'Pant has withdrawn the appeal - what an amazing act of sportsmanship.' Grow out of this," Ashwin stated.
"I am a big fan of Pant. I'm clarifying it yet again before being targeted by people. But think, you are the father of Rathi, and his captain, in front of crores of people, criticised him. He actually went over the board because a captain's job is to back a bowler and not make him feel small. Stop this vilification of the youngster in front of crores of people. Do we do that to anybody else? Why does a bowler have to look small? It's actually a humiliation. And what will happen is that he will never do this again," Ashwin concluded.
After surviving from Rathi's appeal, Jitesh went on to make the LSG bowling attack pay big time. The temporary RCB skipper played a magnificent knock of 85 runs from 33 deliveries and carried his side to a crucial six-wicket victory which saw them finish on the second spot on the IPL points table.
ADVERTISEMENT
