“Spirit of cricket, yet again, sorry” - Ravichandran Ashwin shares his views on Mohammad Nabi taking extra runs off deflection

Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin yet again threw the spirit of cricket debate out of the window while sharing his views on Mohammad Nabi taking extra runs off a deflection during the third India vs Afghanistan T20I. He opined that the as fielder was trying to get the batter out, Nabi was within his rights to take extra runs after the ball hit his pads.

There was an slightly heated exchanged between Nabi and Indian captain Rohit Sharma after the former ran two extra runs after a throw from keeper Sanju Samson hit his pads and deflected. All this happened on the last ball of the first Super Over in the India vs Afghanistan clash in Bengaluru.

While Nabi did not do anything against the rules, some of the Indian players, including Virat Kohli, were quite disappointed. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said that he did not find anything wrong in what the Afghanistan batter did.

“When a fielder throws to get me run out and the ball deflects off my body, I am within my right to run. Spirit of cricket, yet again, sorry,” the Indian offie cheekily commented.

Reacting to Team India expressing their disappointment, the 37-year-old said that the affected party in such cases often feels aggrieved.

“Virat Kohli stopped the ball with his leg and wondered what was happening. There are two sides to this story. If we are the affected party on the field, we’ll get irritated with whatever happens. ‘We might not have done this if we were on the field’ - that is our personal opinion and view,” Ashwin added.

Nabi running two extra runs took Afghanistan’s total to 16 in the first Super Over, a score India tied. The hosts, however, won the second Super Over to clinch the match and the series 3-0.

Ravichandran Ashwin questions about what would happen in a World Cup knockout

While India were clearly not happy with Nabi taking the extra runs off a deflection, Ashwin wondered whether the Men in Blue would not do the same if it was a World Cup knockout match.

Speaking as an Indian cricket fan, he opined:

“Tomorrow, if we are facing a Super Over in a World Cup knockout match, and when it is one ball, two runs to win; the keeper’s throw deflects off our glove, we will also run. How can a player not run? A simple explanation for this will suffice. A bowler is bowling just to pick your wicket. You are blocking the ball or hitting it to score runs. This is the same.”