Ravi Ashwin reveals the details of the 'hard conversation' between him and Ricky Ponting on video call

The whole cricket fraternity was thrilled to know the details of the “hard conversation” that was supposed to happen between Indian veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting regarding the dismissal of batsman who is backing up on the non-striker end. Finally, killing the suspense, Ashwin showed a glimpse of the conversation that took place between the duo.

Ahead of the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League, Ashwin, who previously captained the Kings XI Punjab for two seasons, was traded to Delhi Capitals. While both the spinner and the head coach were serving a mandatory six-day quarantine period in their respective hotel rooms in Dubai, the former decided to get done with the long impending chat about “mankading”. Last year, Ashwin had run-out Jos Buttler who was backing up at the non-striker’s end which had created havoc among the cricket lovers.

In a video uploaded on his YouTube channel, the off-spinner showed a clip where he and Ponting maturely discussed their point of view regarding ‘running out non-striker’. Though both of them were firm on their beliefs, they arrived on a common point that there should be some penalty for the batsman if he is found backing up.

I don’t want to see anyone running two to three yards down the wicket: Ricky Ponting

Giving justification about his move, Ashwin told Ponting that it’s a massive advantage for the batsman if he runs two to three yards before a ball is bowled. Also, ‘mankading’ is a law and there should be nothing wrong in exercising it.

“The moment I did that, Ricky, you said, even if you ask me, I will have a point of justification. But it’s not justification. To be honest, I’m a serial sort of run out guy at the non-striker’s end. I started at the age of 12 because I couldn’t take the batsman taking those extra yards. I was a batsman myself in the junior category. I feel it’s a massive disadvantage. And the moment I did that, the spirit of cricket was brought into play. And you were a part of the committee that approved that law. So what’s your take on that?” the 33-year-old reckoned.

That basically is cheating: Ricky Ponting

To this, the former Australian captain replied that running out a batsman shouldn’t be correct. Instead, if the batsman is found cheating by backing up then there should be some middle away to stop them from doing so.

“I totally get where you’re coming from. And that’s what I said. I wasn’t trying to say that you were justified because actually in the course of the game, you can’t do it. So, if a batsman is cheating and trying to pinch a couple of yards, then honestly, we’ve got to find a way around, trying to make the batsman stop cheating. We’ve had this conversation already. I don’t want to see anyone running two to three yards down the wicket. That basically is cheating,” Ponting replied.

Further in the chat, Ashwin reminded Ponting about the no-ball rule where every ball is now looked at very closely and questioned if the same can be applied to a batsman if he crosses the line. Answering this, the veteran replied that there should be some kind of run penalty as no batsman can afford to take 10 runs off his team’s total because of his foul.

“I think so. I think there should be some sort of run penalty. If you are at the top of your bowling action and stop, and it shows that the batsman is cheating, is out of the crease, I think put a run penalty on him. And do it right from the start. Because that’ll stop him straight away. Taking 10 runs off the team total because you’ve taken a yard out of your crease. It’s got to be those sorts of things that need to be looked at,” Ricky concluded.