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Not so long ago, Delhi Capitals (DC) head coach Ricky Ponting and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin stirred the social media with their comments on ‘Mankading’. The cricket fans were of the opinion that a rift is taking place between Ponting and Ashwin.
Before the controversy could go any further, Delhi franchise’s CEO Dhiraj Malhotra decided to clear the air. Dhiraj opined that Ponting’s comments on ‘Mankad’ were blown out of proportion. He also mentioned that there are no hard feelings between Ashwin and the former Australia international.
“It was totally taken out of context. Ponting was having banter with his friends back home, it was not how it was portrayed,” said Dhiraj as quoted by India Today.
“Both are very serious cricketers and top personalities. They had already spoken about it in a chat show. They had a very good conversation about it. It is important that they have cleared the air. There are no hard feelings at all,” he added.
Earlier, Ponting had said he would have a ‘hard talk’ with Ashwin after reaching the UAE for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020. Former Australia skipper had claimed that he would not allow DC players to ‘Mankad’ in the upcoming season.
Ponting’s comments received a lot of criticism, especially on social media by Indian fans. Later, the Tamil Nadu cricketer clarified that he had a word with Ponting and the latter’s comments were possibly taken out of context.
We had an excellent open chat about it: Ponting
It all started in IPL 2019 when Ashwin’ Mankaded’ Rajasthan Royals (RR) batsman Jos Buttler. A section of the cricket fraternity criticised him for not maintaining the ‘spirit of the game’. Though, Ashwin stood his ground by saying it was well within the laws of the game.
Ponting, who first gave warning to Ashwin, later said that he agrees with the Indian spinner and thoroughly understands the idea behind ‘Mankading.’
“He (Ashwin) made me get on a podcast with him when I first arrived here to have a good open chat about it. I think we’re both on the same page. He feels he did everything in the rules and laws of the game, and he’s absolutely right,” said Ponting in an interview with Cricket.com.au.
DC will start their IPL 2020 campaign against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) on September 20 in Dubai.
