A few hours ago, former Australian cricketer, Shane Warne went on Twitter and declared that Ashwin’s attempt to take an extra run after the ball hit his partner, Rishab Pant’s body, was “disgraceful”.
Ashwin was well within his rights to go for the run, he did not break a single rule, so it is awfully strange to see Shane Warne taking a moral high ground.
But then, I mean, he has always been such a follower of rules and worshipper of the “spirit of cricket” that one may want to excuse him. Look for yourself.
1. A very elegant way of handling an argument. Just pull the shirt, throw the ball at the batsman, and say “f*ck you” on live TV.
2. And of course, it’s acceptable to deflect the ball while running between the wickets.
3. Now, while we are on the topic of “acceptable” gestures, one struggles to digest that he would be fined for giving information on weather and pitch conditions to the opposition’s bookmaker.
4. As if this was not enough, he has also been very respectful of his contemporaries. This is what Warne had to say about Arjuna Ranatunga in 1999.
There is plenty of animosity between Arjuna and myself. I don’t like him, and I’m not in a club of one.
Crazy to think that he was fined for the same.
Criticising an extra run? Seems fair. There is something called “honour”. So what if the run was allowed and all?