Rajasthan Royals wicket-keeper-batsman Jos Buttler's 'Mankad' dismissal on Monday sparked a controversy but his England and Royals team-mate Ben Stokes has come up with a clever remark on whether he would do the same thing to Virat Kohli.
"Hopefully I am playing in the World Cup final and if @imVkohli is batting when I am bowling I would never ever ever ever ever ever.....just clarifying to the mentions I have received #hallabol," Stokes wrote on his Twitter account.
Earlier, Michael Vaughan, the former England captain had tweeted asking the Indian contingent who were seen supporting Ashwin for his "Mankad" act whether they will have the same reaction if the Indian skipper Kohli got dismissed in the same manner.
Even Shane Warne, the Australian cricketing stalwart tweeted would it have been okay if Ben Stokes did the same thing with Virat Kohli?
"Sorry - one more thing to add. If Ben Stokes did what Ashwin did to @imVkohli it would be ok? I'm just very disappointed in Ashwin as I thought he had integrity & class. Kings lost a lot of supporters tonight. Especially young boys and girls! I do hope the BCCI does something," Warne tweeted.
During Monday's match, Ashwin noticed that Buttler was advancing out of his crease before the spinner was releasing the ball when he decided to stop in his action and remove the bails before lodging the appeal. The decision was left to the third umpire, who decided to rule Buttler out.
The mode of dismissal sparked outrage among fans and cricketers. The cricketing fraternity was seen divided on the whole scenario.
However, Ashwin during a post-match ceremony said "Look, it was very instinctive. On my part, it was very instinctive. It was not planned or anything like that. It's there within the rules of the game. I don't understand where the spirit of the game comes, naturally, if it's there in the rules it's there."
Buttler, who was guiding the Royals in the chase of 185, was dismissed for 69 and as soon as he got out, the chase derailed and the team lost the match against Kings XI Punjab by 14 runs.
At the end of the match, Buttler shook Ashwin's hands but refused to look at him. Royal's coach Paddy Upton also seemed to have said something which caused Ashwin to give a bemused look.
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