Jaipur [Rajasthan]: Rajasthan Royals wicket-keeper-batsman Jos Buttler turned furious when he was sent back to the pavilion after Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin did a ‘Mankad’ run out to get him dismissed on Monday night.
But the skipper has said that it was “not planned” but a “very instinctive” move on his part.
“Look, it was very instinctive. On my part, it was very instinctive. It was not planned or anything like that. It is there within the rules of the game. I do not understand where the spirit of the game comes, naturally, if it is there in the rules it is there,” Ashwin said when asked about the controversy at the post-match ceremony.
“I do not understand the point of sporting or sportive in that point because it’s rules. What applies to one man does not apply to everyone else,” he added.
Earlier, Ashwin noticed that Buttler was advancing out of his crease before he was releasing the ball, so he stopped in his action and removed the bails before lodging an appeal. The decision was left to the third umpire who adjudged the batsman out.
In the chase of 185, Rajasthan Royals were sitting pretty at 108 for the loss of one wicket and Buttler was smashing the bowlers all around the park. But as soon as he was dismissed for 69, the chase got derailed and Kings XI Punjab were able to defeat Royals by 14 runs.
However, in a match against Sri Lanka in 2014, Buttler was run out in a similar fashion after two warnings by spinner Sachithra Senanayake.
At the end of the match, Buttler shook Ashwin’s hands but refused to look at him. Royal’s coach Paddy Upton also seemed to have said something which caused Ashwin to give a bemused look.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]