Ravichandran Ashwin defends himself saying he is not a villain for bowling a no-ball

While die-hard Indian cricket fans still suffer from bipolar disorder syndrome analysing what actually cost India the match against West Indies in the ICC World T20 semi-finals, Ravichandran Ashwin came out defending himself from all the criticisms saying that bowling one of the two no-balls should not make him a villain.

Everybody including captain MS Dhoni had commented after the end of the match that the two balls did cost the India dearly.

Ashwin's was one of the no balls which Lendl Simmons a lifeline. Simmons utilised the opportunity to the fullest as he proved to be the backbone of the West Indian run chase.

"The day I went back home my dog was suffering from heat stroke. He had fits. It just showed me what is more important and what is very important in life. I did not turn up a piece of paper for next three days. I haven't read about what people had said," Ashwin said, as looked pretty confident ahead of his new franchise Rising Pune Supergiants' opening IPL game match against Mumbai Indians on Saturday.

I am not a villain: Ashwin

"There have been good enough journalists and knowledgeable people who said I had not bowled a no-ball for ages and to have bowled one no ball, I don't become a villain. If that's the perception I don't know how to counter that," the bowler said during a media interaction.

Being a spinner, Ashwin faced severe criticism for bowling a no-ball that apparently had him outfox Simmons. Simmons was caught at point, only for the batsman to escape on 15 and play a match-winning innings that knocked India out of the World T20.

"When there was dew I did not bowl. It's better you ask someone who actually bowled, to be very honest. I don't know how it felt with the dew on. It's very amusing because with the first 12 balls I bowled, I created a wicket opportunity as well," he explained.

Asked to comment on Dhoni’s post-match conference where he had said that the dew had affected his team's bowling attack, Ashwin was cautious and defensive, "I don't know what the captain said."

Dhoni had blamed dew and the two no-balls bowled by Ashwin as the main focal points that made the match slip from India’s hands. At the end of the conference, Ashwin confronted the journalist who had asked him about the dew factor to find out the publication he represented.

"I am not blaming you. But you should be responsible about what you write as millions of people read it and form an opinion," he said to the journalist.

Mission IPL

Ashwin also conceded that it will be difficult for the players of the Indian team to play in the IPL. "It's going to be difficult, no hiding it. It's going to be taxing - mentally and physically. The thing with IPL is it's very fast paced. So it will be difficult following back-to-back campaigns in the Asia Cup and World T20,” Ashwin said.

"It's a fresh start, it's a new team for me and it's going to be a new challenge which I had always been looking forward to. It's very important to get into the new environment, see how much you can get better and add value to the team. It's very exciting and I am looking forward to it," he said as he concluded the media interaction.