Eoin Morgan had a go at Ravichandran Ashwin for taking a run after the ball deflected off the batter at the other end, but his spirit of the game argument is very dodgy.
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Ravichandran Ashwin and the ‘Spirit of the Game’ debate in IPL! In 2019, the mankading law came under the scanner when he ran out Jos Buttler. The debate once again centered on the ‘Spirit of the Game’ argument. The predominant British and Australian press once again went after Ashwin. But, the Indian spinner held his own. In 2021, in the cauldron of the Sharjah Cricket Stadium against Kolkata Knight Riders, the specter of the ‘Spirit of the Game’ was once again raised against Ashwin.
The incident occurred in the final ball of the 19th over. Rahul Tripathi had thrown the ball and it was an awkward one. The delivery hit Rishabh Pant at a time when Ashwin was almost about to complete the run. He had not seen the ball hit Pant. He decided to go for the second run. This prompted Eoin Morgan, the Kolkata Knight Riders skipper to label his act a ‘disgrace’. When Ashwin got out, he had a massive confrontation with Morgan and Tim Southee. The incident has once again left the cricketing world, not expectedly, divided.
In the laws of the game, there is nothing to prevent an umpire or a batter from taking a run once it is deflected off any particular entity. But, the fact that Morgan called the act ‘disgraceful’ is rich. Here is a captain of a national team that won the ICC World Cup 2019 final because of a deflection. Morgan was aided by two misjudgments. That deflection should have been signaled five runs and not six as the batsmen had not crossed for the second run.
At that time, it was just bad luck. Why has it changed now? If the backup fielder has not yet collected the ball after the deflection and the umpire has signaled it dead, then the batter is within his rights to take the run. The Australian and British press have once again made it an issue of the ‘Spirit of the Game’.
In fact, Australia and England should be the last to talk about the Spirit of the Game. If nations do not toe what the British and the Australians interpret, then it is against the Spirit. But if they say it is the Spirit of the Game, then everyone should believe it is. Morgan would have been right in lambasting Ashwin had he personally requested the umpire in the 2019 ICC World Cup final to have changed it from six to five. Hell, he could have even gone ahead and requested him to change it to dead ball and replay it again.
But no, at that time, the World Cup was at stake. Here, for the question of one run which might have a difference, this reaction is unpardonable.
There is a saying in life. If someone writes a number six on their hand and they show it to the other person, he will see it as nine due to the vision. That does not mean both are wrong. It is just a different way of looking at it. The same applies for the Spirit of the Game argument.
When the mankading controversy became worse, the laws were called into question. R Ashwin did nothing wrong if the law has to be stated. The Mankading law states that a bowler need not even warn the batsman if he is out of the crease. Why should the batsman get an extra yard of an advantage when the bowler does not? The change came in 2011, at that time two instances had taken place which caused controversy.
R Ashwin was involved in one. When he mankaded Lahiru Thirimanne in Brisbane in 2012, that appeal was withdrawn. In 2014, Sri Lanka’s Sachithra Senanayake mankaded Jos Buttler in an ODI. Buttler did not learn his lesson. In IPL 2019, Ashwin did nothing out of the ordinary. It existed in the rules.
Now, even in the deflection controversy, it is many former players and media outlets that have blown the issue out of proportion. One cannot be selective about the laws of the game. Once again, it is to be reiterated that R Ashwin did nothing against the laws of the game.
England is always on the wrong side of the Spirit of the Game argument. Be it Bodyline, Ian Bell run-out, the 2019 World Cup final, they have always misinterpreted the laws of the game to suit their convenience. The Bodyline tactics can be argued that they were intended to keep Sir Don Bradman quiet. It is a different story that he still averaged 56.
But, the Ian Bell incident and the 2019 World Cup final have absolutely no locus standi when it comes to the Spirit of the Game argument. In their convenience, England always seems to forget that their constant misinterpretation and stubbornness has made them a hypocritical stock.
Morgan’s outburst was a ‘disgrace’. Ashwin’s was not. All these incidents are a warning sign that the laws of the game must change to some extent so that there is a level playing field. If not, then these kinds of situations will crop up on a regular occasion.
