Ravichandran Ashwin will be turning out for a new franchise in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, as he will play for Delhi Capitals (DC) after representing Chennai Super Kings, Rising Pune Supergiant and leading Kings XI Punjab in earlier editions.
Ashwin will look forward to make an impact in the spin-friendly conditions of the UAE as he eyes a comeback in white-ball cricket for India with three World Cup tournaments lined up in the next three years.
Delhi Capitals are coached by former Australian captain, Ricky Ponting, and he had made a statement recently concerning Ashwin's willingness to run out non-strikers who back up out of their crease before the ball is bowled.
He told The Grade Podcast that he is not a fan of 'Mankading' and would have a "hard chat" with Ashwin and stated while the off-spinner is with DC franchise, he won't be allowed to 'Mankad' any batsmen.
ALSO READ: "Ashwin can't do mankading as long as he plays for Delhi Capitals," says coach Ricky Ponting
Few days later, Ashwin mentioned on his YouTube channel that he had an "interesting" telephonic conversation with the head coach and would follow up on the topic when they meet in UAE ahead of the IPL 2020.
WATCH – R Ashwin reveals having interesting chat with DC coach Ricky Ponting over phone
The duo are now together as the DC team members began to practice in Dubai after completing their six-day quarantine period. Whether they have had the "hard chat" is not known yet but it will be interesting to see what position Ashwin takes on this matter as he totally believes the form of dismissal is within 'Spirit of Cricket'.
On Tuesday, Ashwin took a light-hearted view of the 'controversy' that erupted on social media as majority of his fans did not agree with Ponting's opinion.
He posted a picture on Instagram where Ponting can be seen with DC skipper Shreyas Iyer while he is quite some way behind. He also cheekily wrote, "@rickyponting and I are socially distanced. @shreyas41"
@rickyponting and I are socially distanced. @shreyas41 ????????????
A post shared by Stay Indoors India ???????? (@rashwin99) on
Ashwin's wife Prithi laughed at the hilarious caption and so did Shreyas who the off-spinner jokingly suggested had made peace between himself and Ponting.
