IPL 2019 | Questioning Ashwin’s character is wrong, says Rahul Dravid

India spinner and Kings XI Punjab captain Ravichandran Ashwin has been the most trending name on social media over the last couple of days. The veteran spinner has received mixed reviews for ‘mankading’ Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Butler. Post the 14-run win against RR, during the post-match press conference, Ashwin retorted his actions were well within the guidelines of the ICC rulebook. Rahul Dravid has offered his two cents on the topic at hand as he defended the under-fire spinner. Dravid added that it was unfair to judge Ashwin’s character based on the incident that occurred with Butler.

"It's within the laws of the game and that's pretty clear. So I don't have a problem with someone deciding to do it. Ashwin was well within his rights to do what he did. However, personally, I would prefer it if somebody warns someone first. That would be my personal choice, but I respect someone's view to think differently. I might not agree with it necessarily, but I would just have to agree to disagree whether someone should run someone out without warning him.

"I think some of the reactions were overblown. Questioning Ashwin's character because he did that is totally wrong. He has every right to his view. You might not agree with it, but it was well within his rights to do it and that does not make him a bad person. Like I said, I would rather he had warned first, but if he chose not to do it, then that's his interpretation and you can't have issue with that. It is not about being a gentleman or a non-gentleman. This is not a judgement on his character, but his reading of the law. He has not cheated anybody, nor is he a bad person because he did that," Dravid told TOI in a recent interview.

The former Indian cricketer, who played 164 Test matches and scored 13,288 runs, revealed the tips and tricks he teaches during coaching when put in a similar situation as Ashwin.

"When I coach teams, I suggest and I use the word suggest, to players that if they feel someone is trying to get undue advantage, then please warn him and if he continues to do that, you can maybe do that (Mankaded). But then people don't have to agree with me. There is nothing in the laws that say you have to warn. He (Ashwin) has read the law in a particular way. You can agree to disagree with him, but you cannot question his character, this is wrong," Dravid added.