Jason Gillespie, the former Australian pacer, has hit back at his former teammate Shane Warne for the latter’s comment on the Ravichandran Ashwin-Eoin Morgan saga.
Ravichandran Ashwin, playing for Delhi Capitals, was involved in an ugly altercation with Kolkata Knight Riders captain Eoin Morgan during a recent game after the former claimed a single after the ball had ricocheted off non -striker skipper Rishabh Pant.
Jason Gillespie Not In Favour Of Blaming Cricketer Playing Within The Cricket Laws
Shane Warne took to Twitter after the incident, offering full support to KKR skipper Eoin Morgan for ‘nailing’ Ravichandran Ashwin, terming the off-spinner’s act ‘disgraceful’.
Shane Warne wrote: “The world shouldn’t be divided on this topic and Ashwin. It’s pretty simple – it’s disgraceful & should never happen. Why does Ashwin have to be that guy again, I think @Eoin16 had every right to nail him !!!!”
Replying to Shane Warne’s comment, his former Australian teammate Jason Gillespie proceeded to copy the first few lines of the leg-spinner’s tweet before adding a line of his own. The former Australian player asserted that players have every right to choose how they wish to play as long as they don’t contradict any prescribed rules.
Jason Gillespie wrote: “The world shouldn’t be divided on this topic and Ashwin. It’s pretty simple- it’s disgraceful & should never happen. Why do we blame the player that plays within the laws of the game? I believe players have every right to play within the laws of the game as set out by the MCC.”
Following the incident, Ravichandran Ashwin wrote a detailed thread on Twitter. There he clarified that he didn’t know that the ball had ricocheted off Rishabh Pant’s arm. He also asserted that he would have still gone for the run had he known it (ricocheting off Rishabh Pant’s arm). That’s because it’s not illegal as per the laws of the game.
Jason Gillespie: Everyone Should Focus On The MCC Prescribed Laws
Ravichandran Ashwin also called out his critics for seeking a moral high ground. He asserted that every player has the right to decide how they want to go about their business. Meanwhile, this is not the first time Jason Gillespie has spoken about the saga and the debate around the illusionary ‘spirit of cricket’.
Jason Gillespie on Friday wrote on Twitter that the definition of “spirit of cricket” differs from country to country or even state to state. He also said that it’s better for players and everyone associated with the game to focus on the MCC’s prescribed laws.
Jason Gillespie wrote: ”The ‘spirit of cricket’, and what constitutes this, differs from country to country, and in some cases, between states/counties/provinces/islands. The laws of the game are in place. Stick to them, and the grey areas within our game are removed.”
Ravichandran Ashwin had the last laugh in his battle against Eoin Morgan, dismissing the left-hander for a second-ball duck. KKR, though, ended up winning the game by three wickets on the night. Ravichandran Ashwin called his Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Rishabh Pant for an extra run after a throw ricocheted, having hit the latter during an IPL 2021 clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Sharjah.
After Ravichandran Ashwin’s dismissal, KKR bowler Tim Southee and skipper Eoin Morgan got involved in a heated argument with the Indian spinner over the extra run taken. While Ravichandran Ashwin ended up with the last laugh by scalping Eoin Morgan for a duck, KKR won the contest by three wickets with ten balls to spare and delayed DC’s qualification for the playoffs.
In the 19th over of the Delhi Capitals innings, Ravichandran Ashwin and Rishabh Pant ran an overthrow after Rahul Tripathi’s shy from point had taken a ricochet off Rishabh Pant at the non-striker’s end. However, an argument broke out in the next over once Tim Southee had dismissed Ravichandran Ashwin. Eoin Morgan quickly joined in, giving a mouthful to the spinner while Dinesh Karthik rushed in to play peacemaker.