 "Ravichandran Ashwin engages in war of words with Herschelle Gibbs, gets dressing down from Twitterati")
Things heated up a bit between Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and former South African batsman Herschelle Gibbs on Monday. There was a jibe, an angry retort that was as caustic as mocking and then an eyewash of an effort to patch up. Ashwin had posted on Twitter his approval of a running shoe brand with which he was associated, praising its design and comfort, among other things. Gibbs, however, decided to engage in a bit of leg-pulling, tweeting to Ashwin, saying that he hoped the new brand of footwear helped Ashwin to “run faster”. Ashwin, for all his guile with ball and bat, wasn’t exactly known to be the fittest player to have ever set his foot on the cricket field. So understandably, Gibbs’ tweet would not have gone down well with the ace spinner, and it didn’t. “Surely not as fast as you did, mate, unfortunately I wasn’t as blessed as you were. But I was blessed with a wonderfully ethical mind not to fix games which put food on my plate,” Ashwin replied, venom dripping from every word.
One would remember, Gibbs was alleged to have been involved in the match-fixing scam which shook the cricket world to its core at the start of the millennium. He was for a long time hounded by the Delhi Police, which made him avoid tours to India. In 2006, he accepted that he was offered money to ’throw’ matches in 2000 and that the message was passed onto him by the disgraced former South African skipper, the late Hansie Cronje. Gibbs, however, was named in the South African squad for the 2006 Champions Trophy in India and had to visit India and talk to the Indian authorities. In 2008, he joined the Deccan Chargers franchise in the in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Gibbs tried to douse the fire with a subsequent tweet, and Ashwin made a rather ungainly attempt to mend frayed nerves.
Ashwin later deleted his tweet, saying that: “What’s sensitive to me isn’t to someone else, and what’s sensitive to you isn’t to me.”
What’s sensitive to me isn’t to someone else, and what’s sensitive to you isn’t to me. I want to respect my family of fans and hence pulled the tweet down, and now entertainment over for all my haters. See you later😂
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) February 19, 2018
However, he was given a dressing down by the Twitterati for what was perceived as a boorish reaction. Here is a collection of tweets:
Sorry Ashwin, but this is harsh. @hershybru is a legend of the game and do you have proof that he fixed the match? I'm an Indian and I dont expect a player like you who is representing #IND to disrespect other players. We all know what CSK did, your former IPL team.
— Tejan Shrivastava (@BeingTeJan) February 19, 2018
unnecessary from @ashwinravi99 ! nothing wrong in what @hershybru tweeted. and by the way Gurunath Meiyappan fans aka CSK players should never utter any word about "ethics" in cricket! https://t.co/pJRJsxqeBN
— Adv. Amol Karke (@Imamol97) February 19, 2018
Impact Shorts
More Shorts
Instead of insulting other cricketers, R Ashwin should concentrate on improving his form to outclass Chahal-Kuldeep Jodi. https://t.co/MyeAFmMy1J
— Mihir Jha (@MihirkJha) February 19, 2018
No one supports him.... Is it necessary to bring that issues now..... And who is that cricketer who supported the betting king by saying Meiyappan just a cricket enthusiast??
— Recruiter (@Kingsleyrules6) February 19, 2018
Lmao, maccha himself had his boss and team CSK banned for fixing and is giving sermons to other about fixing. #TeamGibbs
— Artetaahhh (@Artsenall) February 19, 2018
Too late to cover it up dude. Funny that you got enraged over an obvious observation 😂. Hopefully those Nike shoes somehow miraculously help you move 😝
— Aayush Jain (@aayushjtweets) February 19, 2018
*On a date*
— Iyeronical (@LosingMotion) February 19, 2018
Girl: I will have the non veg platter. And you?
Ashwin: I was blessed with a wonderfully ethical mind not to fix games which put food on my plate.
 "Israel targets top Hamas leaders in Doha; Qatar, Iran condemn strike as violation of sovereignty")
 "Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched")
 "Who is CP Radhakrishnan, India's next vice-president?")
 "Israel informed US ahead of strikes on Hamas leaders in Doha, says White House")
 "Israel targets top Hamas leaders in Doha; Qatar, Iran condemn strike as violation of sovereignty")
 "Nepal: Oli to continue until new PM is sworn in, nation on edge as all branches of govt torched")
 "Who is CP Radhakrishnan, India's next vice-president?")
 "Israel informed US ahead of strikes on Hamas leaders in Doha, says White House")
