Ravichandran Ashwin gives befitting reply to Alastair Cook implying Pitch tampering during Rajkot Test

Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is sadly set to miss the rest of the series against England. On the field, the veteran India player has been in the news for his performances. The 37-year-old got to his 500-wicket mark with the scalp of Zak Crawley on Friday. 

While he was batting, Ravichandran Ashwin was warned by the umpire for running on the pitch. This was the third warning for the Indian team after two earlier discretions were warned as well.  

England were given five runs even before they could begin their batting innings. That decision didn’t sit down well with Ashwin who was seen pleading his case. Former England skipper Alastair Cook took a dig at the Indian bowler during his chat about the game. 

Ravichandran Ashwin slams Alastair Cook’s comments 

After India was given a 5-run penalty due to Ravichandran Ashwin running on the pitch, Alastair Cook took a slight dig. The 39-year-old implied that the Indian veteran did it as a tactical ploy. 

Alastair Cook during his chat with TNT Sports said “He was intentionally damaging the pitch to take wickets. He ran into the protected area to disturb it as he had to bowl in the 2nd innings. This generally happens in the third innings if you are 120-130 runs ahead. You think of taking advantage of the situation.”

Speaking to Jio Cinema at the end of the Ashwin slammed such comments. “Umpires warned some of our batters for running on the pitch and I was aware of it. However, I couldn’t get off the pitch on time due to poor motor skills. If the England players and media think that it was intentional, it wasn’t.”

The 37-year-old also said “if this is how they want to blame, so be it. I told the umpires Joel Wilson and Kumar Dharmasena that the incident happened due to poor motor skills and if I was any better, I would have competed in the Olympics not cricket”

According to reports, Ashwin is set to miss the rest of the series. The cricketer’s mother isn’t keeping well prompting him to fly back home late on Friday night. No replacement can be named during the game but the selectors will be looking to bring a new player for the next two games.