Jos Buttler’s namesake – an Australian scribe – has a tough day on social media as fans target him

Tuesday was quite a busy day for the cricket fans, thanks to ‘Mankading’ that Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) captain Ravichandran Ashwin did to dismiss Rajasthan Royals (RR) batsman Jos Buttler in a game in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019. However, as the fans were busy reacting to the dramatic incident that left the cricketing world sharply divided, one Josh Butler had to pay a heavy price as he was mistaken for the actual England cricketer.

Butler is an Australian journalist and he found himself at the receiving end with the cricket fans expressing their opinions on the social media tagging him in place of Buttler whose fluent innings (69 off 43) met a tragic end because of Ashwin’s technically-right-but-ethically-not-so-right act.

Butler tweeted about his experience on social media saying he has been getting messages and tags from Indian fans with diverse reactions – angry and supportive – over the Mankading episode as they had mistaken him for the actual batsman.

The other Steve Smith who faced the music after sandpaper gate last year

A similar incident happened with sports writer Steve Smith a year ago in the wake of the sandpaper gate in a Test match between Australia and South Africa. The then Australian captain Steve Smith was banned along with his former deputy David Warner and another youngster Cameron Bancroft for adopting illegal means while playing.

Smith and Warner were banned for a year while Bancroft for some months less. The tainted players faced a massive backlash and Smith’s namesake – the writer – also faced the wrath as angry fans mistook him for the cricketer.

Ashwin also saw support as well as criticism pouring in for him after the act of running Buttler out at the non-striker’s end after he strayed out of the crease. Though the law permitted such dismissal, the off-spinner was blasted for not abiding by the spirit of the game. Former RR captain and currently it’s brand ambassador Shane Warne tore into Ashwin for his action but the Kings’ captain remained unfazed saying what he did was well within the ambit of law.

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