Ashwin tears into Pant for withdrawing Digvesh's run-out appeal against Jitesh: 'It is actually a humiliation'

Rishabh Pant won plaudits for his decision to withdraw Lucknow Super Giants’ appeal for a run-out at the non-striker’s end during the final league match of the 2025 Indian Premier League against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Lucknow.

The run-out was orchestrated by leg-spinner Digvesh Singh Rathi against RCB keeper-batter Jitesh Sharma, who had filled in for Rajat Patidar as captain. Pant, however, opted against continuing with the appeal, which led to a heart-warming hug from Jitesh.

While the LSG captain has since received praise for his gesture, spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin has expressed his displeasure and slammed Pant for subjecting his bowler to “humiliation” instead of backing him and resulting in his “vilification in front of crores and crores of people”.

“Captain’s job is actually to back a player. A captain’s job is not to make a bowler feel small. By making this decision of pulling away an appeal… it should have discussed earlier.

“We don’t know if they discussed, 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,” Ashwin said in a video posted on his YouTube channel.

Pant’s decision will ‘scar’ Digvesh, feels Ashwin

The 38-year-old felt that the incident would “scar” Digvesh, who has been quite the colorful character in his maiden IPL season with his notebook celebrations and run-ins with members of the opposition.

“So what happens is a bowler feels so small that he will never do that again. People will say that he should never do that (run out at the non-striker’s end) again. Why should he not do that? It is actually not about the rule. The batsman taking an extra step gives him an opportunity to finish a two.”

“Digvesh Rathi is not my relative, not my friend. I don’t know who he is. But I am saying you will scar the bowler so much that it will really affect him. But because nobody really cares about a bowler. So you can insult him by withdrawing his appeal in front of crores of people,” Ashwin added.

The incident took place during the 17th over of RCB’s chase after LSG had posted 227/3 on the board thanks to Pant’s emphatic 54-ball century . Jitesh had a narrow escape earlier in the same over, holing out to backward point on 49 off a no-ball in the first delivery and completing his maiden IPL fifty with a six in the subsequent ‘Free Hit’.

As for the run-out in question, Jitesh would have continued batting had Pant continued with Digvesh’s appeal for a run-out instead of withdrawing it, as the bowler had already completed his delivery stride before turning around and breaking the stumps at the non-striker’s end.

Jitesh would go on to smash an unbeaten 85 off 33 balls to help RCB cruise to a six-wicket victory at Lucknow’s Ekana Cricket Stadium and seal a top-two finish at the end of the league phase.

Revisiting Ashwin’s history with ‘Mankading’

Ashwin’s take on the incident is of importance as the senior off-spinner has been in the news for running batters out at the non-striker’s end on multiple occasions, including England wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler in the 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League.

Ashwin was captaining Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) when he dismissed Rajasthan Royals opener Buttler for leaving his crease, which spiralled into a massive controversy with the Indian spinner being accused of not upholding the ‘Spirit of Cricket’.

Cricket’s laws, however, state that a bowler can run the non-striker out for leaving his/her crease before reaching the point of release in the delivery stride, meaning Ashwin was fully justified in dismissing Buttler .

Ashwin, who had retired from international cricket in December and had returned to the Chennai Super Kings after a decade this IPL season, had previously tried to run Sri Lanka’s Lahiru Thirimanne out at the non-striker’s end during the 2012 Commonwealth Bank Triangular Series in Australia.

The appeal, however, was later withdrawn after umpires Paul Reiffel and Billy Bowden asked Virender Sehwag, who was captaining India at the time in MS Dhoni’s absence, to reconsider.

The off-spinner has warned non-strikers on several other occasions without effecting a run-out, including long-time India teammate Shikhar Dhawan during Punjab’s match against Delhi Capitals later in the same season.