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Rajasthan Royals (RR) spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has finally broken his silence on Adam Zampa’s Mankad attempt in the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL). The off-spinner revealed that he loved the cold stare from the Melbourne Stars spinner at the batter after the incident.
The incident took place during the 20th over of the Melbourne Renegades' innings when Zampa attempted Mankad against Tom Rogers. The batter was given not out by the third umpire because the bowler’s arm had gone past the vertical. Zampa completed the action without delivering the ball.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said:
“The best thing I loved from this whole incident is the stare given by Adam Zampa after running out the non-striker. It was similar to The Undertaker’s stare in World Wrestling Federation. He didn’t even say a word to the batsman. The batsman also stood in silence without knowing whether it was out or not out.”
He added:
“People will talk about the legality of the dismissal. That he has completed his action and stuff like that. But see, he was about to bowl, and the non-striker had started running. The rule clearly states that you can run anywhere as soon as the bowler releases since he can’t run you out anymore once he releases. Anyway, I loved the cold stare by Zampa. That conveyed a strong message.”
For the uninitiated, Ashwin is famous for running out Jos Buttler for backing up too far in IPL 2019. The duo now play for the same franchise in the tournament.
Ravichandran Ashwin criticizes David Hussey for comments on Adam Zampa’s Mankad attempt
Ashwin also criticized David Hussey for his post-match comments about withdrawing Adam Zampa’s Mankad appeal.
He said:
“David Hussey gave an interview during the second innings saying that they would have withdrawn the appeal even if the umpire had given it out. I don’t believe what he said because if you wanted to withdraw the appeal, you need not have taken that to the third umpire itself.”
Interestingly, Zampa was bought by RR for INR 1.5 crore in the IPL 2023 auction. The leg spinner went unsold last year after he pulled out of the tournament mid-way in IPL 2021 due to personal reasons.
So far, Zampa has played 14 IPL games with 21 wickets at an economy rate of 7.73. The spinner is likely to warm the bench for the entire IPL 2023 season in the presence of Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal.
