Delhi capitals head coach Ricky Ponting will discourage spinner Ravichandran Ashwin from running out batsmen who are backing up at the bowler's end during the 2020 Indian Premier League.
Ashwin ran out Rajasthan Royals batsman Jos Buttler in this controversial fashion during the 2019 IPL. The dismissal was within the laws of the tournament, but deemed against the spirit of the game.
Ashwin was with the Kings XI Punjab at the time, but has since moved to the Capitals.
What Ponting Said
“I'll be having a chat with him about it, that's the first thing I'll do,” Ponting said on The Grade Cricketer podcast.
“Obviously, he wasn't in our squad last year, he's one of our players that we tried to afford to bring in this year. Look, he's a terrific bowler, and he's done a great job in IPL for a long period of time now.
“But I must admit watching that last season, as soon as it happened and he did that, I actually sat our boys down and said ‘look, I know he's done it, there'll be others around the tournament who'll think about doing this well, but that's not going to be the way that we play our cricket, we won't be doing that'.
“So that's going to be a conversation and that's going to be a hard conversation I will have to have with him, but I'm pretty sure he'll take it on the chin. I think, even him, looking back now, he will probably say it was within the rules and he's right to do it, but this is not within the spirit of the game, not in the way I want, at least with the Delhi Capitals anyway.”
Delhi's IPL History
The Delhi Capitals used to be called the Daredevils. They have never won the IPL. The Mumbai Indians are the reigning champions. Mumbai have won the IPL four times. The Chennai Super Kings have three titles. They played each other in last year's final.
The 2020 IPL will be played in the United Arab Emirates, from 19 September to 10 November. The tournament was also hosted by the UAE in 2014. It was played in South Africa in 2009.
