NEW DELHI: The former coach of India, Ravi Shastri, while speaking on the YouTube channel of Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has criticized the notion of Spirit of Cricket and hence said that his major emphasis lies in following rules rather than ‘spirit of cricket.’
Shastri’s comments were made in relation to the incidents that happened during India’s Test series against England in 2021. One notable one was when at Lord’s England’s James Anderson had a heated exchange with some Indian players including Jasprit Bumrah.
During the game, Bumrah kept on delivering bouncers to Anderson who got hit by the ball on his head, ribs and finally left hand leading to mouthy exchanges between them.
Reflecting over this spat, Shastri remarked on Ashwin’s channel, “What is wrong with that? You get a bat don’t you? There is no rule which says tail enders should not(bounce) – then declare the innings no? If it gets too hot in the kitchen and you don’t want to be there then stay inside be clear your fingers are fine everything is fine you can bowl as much as you like so that you don’t get injured.”
Still talking about ‘Spirit of Cricket’ as discussed lately due to certain allegations around non-strikers being found out by batters. Despite it being a legal form dismissal within the laws of cricket according many pundits and fans, such an action is contrary to spirit of cricket.
For example, Ashwin famously dismissed England batsman Jos Buttler similarly during an IPL match. This act received criticism from various quarters with some supporters and experts calling for bowlers never to mankad non-strikers without warning them first.
Other players have also been involved in similar dismissals like Indian female cricketer Deepti Sharma whereby both ex-cricketers and fans criticized her for employing this mode. They say that the spirit of cricket should take precedence over abiding by the laws strictly in situations like this.
He said, “I believe that it is rules. They (Ashwin) mankaded a guy, it rules, there’s a rule book, follow the damn rules. A guy running two steps ahead it’s not fair you should have warned me for what warn? The rule says you are cheating. I hate warnings I’ll take the bails off straightaway. On your bike now! Rule book page 33. Don’t whinge and moan after the event. It’s there. It is the same for both teams.”
