Ashwin mankad: Warne slams Kings XI Punjab captain's 'low act'

Just into its third day, the 12th edition of IPL has already courted controversy, courtesy India's spinning star and Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin. It all started when a desperate Ashwin dismissed Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler on Monday in the fourth match of IPL 2019 in a controversial manner. 

Buttler was going strong and batting on 69 off 43 balls chasing the 185-run target set by Kings XI Punjab when Ashwin mankaded the Rajasthan Royals opener without giving him any warning. As per the laws of the game, the third umpire declared Buttler out and Rajasthan Royals eventually lost the game against Kings XI Punjab. From 108 for 1 in 12.4 overs, Rajasthan Royals were reduced to 164 for 8 in 19.1 overs. 

Cricket fans and pundits believe that the result would have been otherwise had Buttler been around. As expected, Ashwin's mankading has not gone down well among cricket fans and veterans of the game. 

Rajasthan Royals mentor and former Australian spinning legend Shane Warne was visibly upset and took to the Twitter to express his disappointment soon after the game. "So disappointed in @ashwinravi99 as a Captain & as a person. All captains sign the #IPL wall & agree to play in the spirit of the game. RA had no intention of delivering the ball - so it should have been called a dead ball. Over to u BCCI - this a not a good look for the #IPL," Warne tweeted after the Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals match on Monday.

"As Captain of your side - you set the standard of the way the team wants to play & what the team stands for ! Why do such a disgraceful & low act like that tonight ? You must live with yourself & FYI - it’s to late to say sorry Mr Ashwin. You will be remembered for that low act," he said in a series of tweets.

Ashwin, on his part, said he was completely within his rights to execute such a dismissal, which completely turned the match in Kings XI's favour. "No real argument on that and it was pretty instinctive," Ashwin said in the post-match press conference. "I didn't even load and he just left the crease. We ended on the right side of the coin, but I definitely think that those are game-changing moments and batsmen need to be wary of it."

However, Warne wondered if those supporting Ashwin would have been fine had England's Ben Stokes mankaded Indian skipper Virat Kohli. "Sorry - one more thing to add. If Ben Stokes did what Ashwin did to @imVkohli it would be ok ? I’m just very disappointed in Ashwin as I thought he had integrity & class. Kings lost a lot of supporters tonight. Especially young boys and girls ! I do hope the BCCI does something," Warne tweeted. 

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan also joined Warne in attacking Ashwin. He called on cricketing bodies to amend the laws in support of mankading. "Will teams now start monitoring players in opposing teams to see which ones back up out of the crease etc etc and use it as a tactic to get them out !!!?????? Surely the game hasn’t come to this ..... #IPL," Vaughan wrote on Twitter.