'Will love him plotting with Buttler' - Virender Sehwag gets sarcastic as Rajasthan Royals rope Ravichandran Ashwin

Former Indian batter Virender Sehwag took a dig at the Rajasthan Royals for picking Ravichandran Ashwin in the IPL 2022 mega auction remembering the Mankad incident three years back. Ashwin was bagged up by the Rajasthan Royals for five Crores after intense bidding against Delhi and the franchise has roped in New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult as well for eight Crores. Royals have retained Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, and Yashashvi Jaiswal ahead of the mega auctions.

Ashwin played for the Punjab Kings in IPL 2019 and in the game against Rajasthan Royals, the off-spinner Mankaded Buttler was in tremendous touch. Buttler was furious to have been dismissed in that way and it turned the match on its head as Royals went on to lose the game after being in complete control. Ashwin received a lot of negative responses for his method of dismissing Buttler but he was quite confident that he abided by the rules of the game.

Ashwin played for the Delhi Capitals in the last two seasons and his impressive stints earned him a recall into the Indian limited-overs side as well. He played in the T20 World Cup 2021 and has a lot to offer to the side in terms of bowling at any stage of the games. The 35-year-old is one of the sharpest minds going around and can provide a lot of useful support for the young captain Samson.

Haha Ravi Ashwin to Rajasthan: Virender Sehwag

Sehwag who loves to have fun, saw the humorous side of Ashwin going to the Rajasthan Royals in the mega auction despite the Mankad incident a few years back. Buttler has been brilliant for the Royals since coming into the side in 2018 and has been one of the consistent run-scorers as well. He can turn around games on his own and has an overall strike rate of 150 in the tournament history.

‘Haha Ashwin to Rajasthan. Will love him plotting a Mankad with Buttler’ Sehwag tweeted on Twitter

Meanwhile, Ashwin will be a key factor for the Rajasthan Royals as he can play the all-rounder role as well and they have formed a solid core by bringing in the likes of West Indies hard hitter Shimron Hetmyer for 8.5 Crores. They will be looking to bring in some Indian contingent to strengthen the middle order now.