AUS vs ENG 2022: "Deepti lives rent-free in their heads"- Fans slam Mitchell Starc for mentioning Deepti Sharma in his comments to Jos Buttler

Australian speedster Mitchell Starc has received some stick from fans after he mentioned Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma's name during an argument with England skipper Jos Buttler on Friday.

In the third T20I between Australia and England, Starc bowled a delivery and turned back to Buttler to let him know that he was backing up too much before the delivery.

While Buttler denied the claim, Starc, while walking back to his bowling mark, said:

"I am not Deepti, but I won't do it."

The pacer was referring to the incident in a Women's ODI between India and England, where Deepti Sharma ran out non-striker Charlie Dean for backing up too much.

Fans felt there was absolutely no need for Starc to mention Deepti as the all-rounder was well within the rules of the game.

Here are some of the reactions:

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Deepti Sharma sparked up 'Spirit of Cricket' debate

It was perhaps pretty brave of Deepti Sharma to dismiss Dean in the fashion that she did, that too at the home of cricket - the Lord's.

Many former England cricketers and even some current ones like Stuart Broad and James Anderson felt that it wasn't the best way to win a game and was not in accordance with the 'Spirit of Cricket'.

However, Deepti received great support from the Indian cricketing fraternity, as many claimed she was just following the rules. Although the term was previously called 'Mankading', the ICC brought in a new set of rules from October 1 that have clearly stated that it is a 'run out' and a fair mode of dismissal.

Buttler has already been run out in this fashion by Sachithra Senanayake and Ravichandran Ashwin. The England skipper will probably need to be careful as he could well be dismissed in this way during a crucial T20 World Cup game.