‘Captain's job is to back the bowler…’ – R Ashwin slams Rishabh Pant for withdrawing Digvesh Rathi’s ‘mankad’ appeal against RCB

LSG faced a 6-wicket defeat against RCB in the tournament’s last league match ahead of the playoffs. Star RCB wicketkeeper-batter and stand-in skipper Jitesh Sharma outclassed LSG skipper Pant’s century and helped RCB chase down the target in just 18.3 overs, scoring 230 runs for the loss of just 4 wickets.

Meanwhile, what attracted the headlines and caught the attention of the fans was the ‘mankad’ attempt of Digvesh Rathi to dismiss Jitesh Sharma at the non-striker’s end in the second innings. However, the technicality of the situation led the third umpire to declare Jitesh not out.

But what was more shocking to the former India legend, Ravichandran Ashwin, was Rishabh Pant withdrawing the appeal and a commentator praising the LSG skipper for his move.

“Captain’s job is not to make his player feel small” – R Ashwin on Rishabh Pant’s gesture

Rishabh Pant’s act didn’t go down well with Ravichandran Ashwin as he felt that it was ‘humiliating’ and ‘insulting’ for Rathi in front of millions of people, be it in the stadium or those who were watching it on television.

“As an owner of LSG, I will be thinking that I need Jitesh Sharma's wicket. If he has stepped outside the crease, he is out. Now let me dive into the technicality of the incident. Is he justified in being out if he stepped outside the crease before Digvesh Rathi got into the delivery stride? Yes. Would it be bad for RCB? Yes, again, because they would not have liked Rathi or Pant if they did that. Now let's look into the real-case scenario. When Rathi landed his front foot, Jitesh was inside the crease. So, this was not out. After breaking the stumps, umpire Michael Gough asked him whether he was appealing, and not whether he was sure. He said, 'Yes, I'm appealing. ' So the decision went to the third umpire, and the right decision was made,” said Ashwin in a video on his YouTube channel.

“Until now, everything was right. But after that, commentators started saying that Pant has withdrawn the appeal - what an amazing act of sportsmanship. Grow out of this. Pant is a fantastic cricketer. He scored a stunning century, and I know he will go on to do great things in cricket. I am already looking forward to the England series just to see how he will bat and help India win. I am a big fan of Pant. I'm clarifying it yet again before being targeted by people. But think, you are the father of Rathi, and his captain, in front of crores of people, criticised him. He actually went over the board. A captain's job is to back the bowler and not make himself feel small,” he added later.