Ashwin: Pant should not have withdrawn Rathi's appeal

R Ashwin was not impressed with Rishabh Pant's decision to withdraw Digvesh Rathi's appeal for running out Jitesh Sharma at the non-striker's end during Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) final league game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

"Digvesh Rathi is not my relative. He is not my friend. I don't know who he is. But I am saying… You will scar a bowler so much that it will really affect him," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel. "But because nobody really cares about a bowler, so in front of crores of people, should we withdraw his appeal and insult him?"

The incident occurred in the 17th over of RCB's chase when Rathi took off the bails after observing that Jitesh had left the crease at the non-striker's end.

The replays showed that the batter was outside his crease, but the TV umpire deemed that Rathi had completed his delivery stride before effecting the run-out. While it all unfolded, Pant withdrew the appeal and received a hug from Jitesh. RCB went on to win the game by six wickets.

Ashwin, who has been a vocal supporter of running out batters at the non-striker's end, said Pant should have backed his bowler.

"Let me dive into the technicalities of this incident. Is Jitesh Sharma justified in being out if he stepped out of the crease before he (Rathi) got into the delivery stride? Yes, he is justified in being given out and the bowler is also well-justified," Ashwin said. "Digvesh Rathi landed at the front foot and Jitesh Sharma was inside the crease. So, in all technical possibilities, this is not out. And what happened? After hitting the stump, (umpire) Michael Gough asked Digvesh Rathi. He didn't ask him, 'are you sure?" He asked him whether he was appealing.

"He (Rathi) said, 'yes, I am appealing'. So, he (Gough) went to the third umpire and the third umpire took the right decision. He said, 'he has crossed his delivery stride, the batsman is inside the crease, I have a decision, not out'.

"Now, till now, everything is fine. Bowler has hit, appealed, not out. It's just another day in the office. But what happened? After this, during the match, (the) commentators said, 'Rishabh Pant has withdrawn the appeal. What an amazing act of sportsmanship!'

"Come on, yaar. Let's grow out of this. I am asking one question. Think about it, Digvesh Rathi is your son. Whoever is watching this video, he is your son, and Digvesh Rathi's captain has criticised his decision in front of crores of people. It's actually gone over the board because, look, a captain's job is actually to back a player. Alright? A captain's job is to not make a bowler feel small."

Ashwin suggested that Rathi was made to feel small and that he might never effect a run-out at the bowler's end again.

"We don't know if he [Pant] already spoke to them [LSG camp] or not," Ashwin said. "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? It is actually a humiliation.

"What happens is [that] a bowler feels so small that he will never do it and people will say in the comment section that he should not do it. Why? Why shouldn't he do it?"