‘It is a humiliation’ – Ravichandran Ashwin criticizes Rishabh Pant for withdrawing Digvesh Rathi’s Mankad appeal

Former India and Chennai Super Kings spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin opened up on Digvesh Rathi's attempt to mankad Jitesh Sharma in the 70th and the last league stage match of the IPL 2025. The experienced spinner stood with Digvesh and justified his call of going for the dismissal, which is written in the MCC rulebook. Ashwin asked the fans to ponder the plight of Rathi after getting criticized for his decision in front of crores of people.

While Ashwin praised Rishabh Pant for his performance and regarded him to be one of his favourite players, he did not like the fact that the LSG skipper did not back his bowler. Ashwin regarded it to be a humiliation for Pant not to support his bowler, which could potentially lead to him never pulling off such a move. He asked why Mankading should not be done by the bowlers.

"But just imagine Digvesh Rathi is your son, and his captain has criticised his decision in front of crores of people. It’s actually gone over the board. Because a captain’s job is actually to back a player. It is actually a humiliation. What happens is a bowler feels so small that he will never do it [again]. And people will come and say in the comments here that he should not do it. Why? Why should it not be done?" Ashwin asked on his YouTube channel.

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'You scar a bowler so much by doing this' - Ashwin on Pant's appeal withdrawal

Furthermore, the veteran also added that he had nothing to do with Rathi but was concerned about his confidence levels after Pant withdrew his dismissal. Ravichandran Ashwin stood with Digvesh and claimed that a humiliation like it could be granted for a bowler, as nobody would speak against the withdrawal of the decision.

"Digvesh Rathi is not my relative, he is not my friend. I don’t know who he is. But I am saying, you scar a bowler so much by doing this, that it will really affect him. But because nobody really cares about a bowler, in front of crores of people, the appeal will be withdrawn, and he can be insulted like this," the 38-year-old added.

Ashwin also claimed that Digvesh's attempt was not fruitful as per the cricket rulebook and felt it had to be ended there. He felt there was no need for the LSG skipper to withdraw the call. Ashwin asked the fans not to go after the bowler as he claimed Rathi had not made any mistake. He asked for the stoppage of the vilification of Rathi for his decision.

"Let’s talk about cricket for a second. According to the Laws of the Game, it went upstairs, the umpire said not out, and it is not out. There is no scene of withdrawal [of the appeal] in this. We don’t know if this was discussed internally beforehand. But let’s stop this vilification of that youngster in front of crores and crores of people. Do we do that to anybody else? Why does a bowler look small?" Ashwin concluded.