Ace Indian off-spinner R Ashwin has called bowlers an ‘oppressed community’ and told them to wake up in the light of recent incidents of bowlers running out batters at the non-striker’s end for backing up too far.
The 36-year-old had come in defense of Melbourne Stars captain Adam Zampa who ran out the non-strikers during their recent BBL match. Though the dismissal was called no out due to regularities and rules, Zampa was slammed by the commentators and social media users.
Even his coach David Hussey said that if the batter had been given out, they would have withdrawn the appeal. Calling it a big insult, Ashwin slammed Hussey and said: “First of all, why should you withdraw the appeal? A bowler is running the non-striker out. The captain will say that the bowler is wrong or what? What a big insult that is to the bowler if the captain is withdrawing the appeal.”
Moreover, he had said that he was tired of justifying bowlers running out non-strikers for backing up too far. Ashwin also took a potshot at one of the users who said that bowlers must use some skillset in order to deserve a wicket.
“Oppressed community called “bowlers” please wake up,” he tweeted while quoting one of the users who had attached a snippet of a Test match that was played this year between England and New Zealand in Leeds.
In the video, Henry Nicholls was dismissed after hitting the ball straight to non-striker Daryl Mitchell and the ball ricocheted off his bat and flew to mid-off where the fielder caught it, giving bowler Jack Leach a wicket.
Ashwin's comment was at the method of dismissal in the video where no skills were at display and the bowler got a wicket out of pure luck.
Ashwin has reiterated the point that rules have always favored the batters. Ashwin was the first one who brought this mode of dismissal into the limelight when he ran out Jos Buttler during IPL 2019.
Recently Pakistan U19 bowler ran out a Rwanda batter in a similar manner in the ongoing U19 T20 World Cup. Reacting to the same, Australia’s Mark Waugh said: “The worst thing is it seems that teams are using it as a deliberate planned way to get a wicket."
To this former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad had replied: “Yes right , Bowlers planning to get a player out by legal means is the worst thing. Batsman wanting to take unfair advantage by not staying back in the crease is the best thing."
