'What presence of mind?' - Muttiah Muralidaran slams Ravichandran Ashwin on Deepti Sharma-Charlie Dean saga

The Spirit of the game versus the Law of the game debate is yet to settle. A lot of cricketers have already shared their opinion on the matter and now, Sri Lanka's legendary spinner Muttiah Muralidaran has joined the conversation. The 50-year-old believes that Deepti Sharma was right but she should have warned Charlotte Dean before running her out at the non-striker end.

Previously, India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in one of his tweets had praised Deepti Sharma for her ‘presence of mind’ but the former Sri Lankan great refused to buy that and criticised Deepti for not following the spirit of the game.

“What presence of mind? No cricketer would play international matches if he or she has no presence of mind. I would have appreciated Deepti (Sharma) if she had given the warning to the non-striker first. It would have been in the right spirit of the game then,” Muralidaran told to Deccan Chronicle.

“Yes, lawfully, she (Deepti Sharma) was right in running out the non-striker but that's in the law and not in the spirit of the game. The white ball game is a pressure game and in a tight situation the non-striker may have left the crease early and if this act by the non-striker is repeated, the runout is justified. Not otherwise in my opinion,” the off-spinner added.

Come on guys, bring back the gentleman spirit into the game: Syed Kirmani

The former India wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani has also criticised Ashwin for being the Patreon of the dismissal. He dismissed the idea of Ashwin’s ‘Bravery award’ and urged cricketers to bring back the spirit of the gentleman’s game.

“Where is the Bravery & presence of mind “ and a  “BRAVERY AWARD” Hah !!! Sorry Ashwin, you have been a party to such Bravery in the past. Come on guys, bring back the gentleman spirit into the game.

If the Bowler feels that the non-striker is taking advantage of backing, the right spirit is to warn him/her ( like Courtney Walsh/ Viv Richards ). If a non-striker continues after warning then the bowler is legitimate to run him out,” told the former cricketer to Deccan Chronicle.