‘Why do we blame the player that plays within the laws of the game?’ – Jason Gillespie hits back at Shane Warne for criticising Ravi Ashwin

Former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie lashed out at legendary spin wizard Shane Warne for calling Ravi Ashwin’s act in the Indian Premier League 2021 “disgraceful”. Ashwin went under the scanner for allegedly going against the Spirit of Cricket during Delhi Capitals’ match against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on last Tuesday.

Ashwin was involved in an altercation with Tim Southee and KKR skipper Eoin Morgan. The situation stemmed from the incident when Ashwin tried to steal a second run after the ball hit Rishabh Pant’s arms. For his act, he had to face a lot of flak from the cricket fraternity and the netizens. Former Knights’ skipper Dinesh Karthik also spoke about the matter in the press conference.

Warne, in the meantime, wasn’t happy after Ashwin tried to take the extra run. The veteran felt that Morgan was well within his rights to bash the DC off-spinner.

Warne had taken to Twitter and written, “The world shouldn’t be divided on this topic and Ashwin. It’s pretty simple – it’s disgraceful & should never happen. Why does Ashwin have to be that guy again, I think @Eoin16 had every right to nail him !!!!”

Jason Gillespie opens up

Gillespie, on the other hand, believed that Ashwin did nothing wrong and that he played by the laws set by the Marylebone Cricket Club.

“The world shouldn’t be divided on this topic and Ashwin. It’s pretty simple- it’s disgraceful & should never happen. Why do we blame the player that plays within the laws of the game? I believe players have every right to play within the laws of the game as set out by the MCC.”

“The ‘spirit of cricket’, and what constitutes this, differs from country to country, and in some cases, between states/counties/provinces/islands. The laws of the game are in place. Stick to them, and the grey areas within our game are removed.”

The “spirit of cricket”, and what constitutes this, differs from country to country and in some cases, between states/counties/provinces/islands.
The laws of the game are in place. Stick to these and the grey areas within our game are removed. https://t.co/MY6aYqwOuQ

— Jason Gillespie 🌱 (@dizzy259) October 1, 2021

Later, Ashwin dropped a series of tweets, taking a stand for himself after facing criticism from all corners. Back in 2019, Ashwin also came under fire for running out Jos Buttler at the non-striker’s end.