IPL 2019 | Ravichandran Ashwin didn’t represent his teammates, says RR coach Paddy Upton

The game-changing moment for Rajasthan Royals on Monday came in the 13th over of the second innings when a well-settled Buttler was controversially given out after Ashwin decided to mankad him. The English hard-hitter had left the crease even before Ashwin bowled and the Kings XI Punjab skipper wasted no time in clipping off the bails.

Both the players were seen having an animated discussions following the incident before the third umpire signalled out. While the cricket law doesn’t state that the bowler should warn the batsman about it first before attempting a mankad, it has been more of a verbal rule in the spirit of the game. And Upton seemed furious at Ashwin not adhering to it.

"I think R Ashwin's actions tonight speak for him and represent him. When I looked in the eyes of his teammates, I'm not sure it represented his teammates. We'll leave it up to the IPL fans to decide if that's the kind of thing they want to see, and we'll leave it up to the cricket world to judge R Ashwin's actions tonight. But for us, we certainly are here just to play cricket and entertain the fans and just be good role models for people who love the game,” said Upton in the post-match press conference, reported Cricbuzz. 

Buttler looked well on course to a century sitting comfortably at 69 off 43 balls when the incident happened and with KXIP needing 80 off 48 balls at the end of the 12th over, Buttler could have very well taken Rajasthan home on the day. Upton, nonetheless, heaped praise on the batsman for his knock. 

"Jos Buttler was amazing while he was batting and for a lot of the game we batted like we wanted and really set ourselves up for victory. I thought the players were able to stay focussed and reset themselves after that run out. I was very happy with the players themselves, the way they acted and responded to that situation. And our conscious decision was to hold our heads up high and maintain our dignity as a team," added Upton.

Not only was Ashwin’s sportsman spirit questioned but so was the manner of the dismissal with many asking if Buttler had actually left the crease when Ashwin stopped on his tracks. Upton stated that he would revisit the incident to check the legality of it.

"I would still like to go and have a close look at the legality of it. But for us, the reality is Ashwin appealed and the umpire gave it out. That's what we need to deal with. As I said, his actions represent him and speak for himself and it's upto the fans and the cricket world to judge for themselves. And the legality is a separate issue, and probably a lot of teams are going to look more closely at that issue. I'd like to hope that the rest of the IPL continues in the spirit that we're all here to come here and enjoy," he added.