Ashwin vows to use critics of non-striker run outs to his advantage
It is one of the hottest talking points in cricket right now and so, despite India being a day away from a decisive T20 World Cup match against Zimbabwe, questions again arose about Ashwin and his relationship with non-striker run outs during Saturday's press conference.
Ashwin has become almost the figurehead of the non-striker run out, with the player involved in numerous such dismissals ever since his effort against Angelo Mathews in 2012 was retracted by then-India captain Virender Sehwag.
The 36-year-old warned David Miller of South Africa for overstepping earlier in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, prompting another round of discussions about the merits of the dismissal.
Match highlights of South Africa restricting India in the first innings then chasing down their target in a low-scoring thriller at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022
But Ashwin is confident in his position and says that if players go public with their unwillingness to enact the dismissal, then he will use that to his benefit.
“I mean, if people are going to come out and say that they won't do it, as a cricketer, I'll use that as an advantage for myself.”
“Nobody likes getting out. I don't like being nicked off, bowled, run out any way. I also wouldn't like to get run out at the non-striker because it's a form of dismissal, and it's pretty legal.”
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One of the biggest critics of the mode of dismissal has been England captain Jos Buttler, who is a potential opponent for Ashwin should India reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.
The spinner famously dismissed Buttler at the non-striker’s end in an IPL match in 2019, with Buttler on 69 from 43 balls at the time and Rajasthan Royals well-placed at the time on 108/1, chasing 184. The hot-tempered incident preceded a collapse of wickets, with seven other Royals players subsequently being dismissed and Ashwin’s Kings XI side winning by 14 runs.
And Ashwin says he can understand why batters are frustrated about getting out in such a manner.
“Honestly, I also wouldn't like to get out like that just because I don't like – it's not like I can't get out like that.
“See, there aren't a lot of arguments around it. Like with anything else in this world, when some things happen, you're going to have people with contradicting thoughts.
“Whether you want to do it or don't want to do it is absolutely fine. It's good to know that they won't do it because you can run the last minute, and you can wait.”
The non-striker run out ruling was moved from the Unfair Play section in the game’s laws to the Run Out section earlier this year to clarify the legitimacy of the mode of dismissal.
The law states:
“If the non-striker is out of his/her ground at any time from the moment the ball comes into play until the instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball, the non-striker is liable to be run out.
"In these circumstances, the non-striker will be out Run out if he/she is out of his/her ground when his/her wicket is put down by the bowler throwing the ball at the stumps or by the bowler’s hand holding the ball, whether or not the ball is subsequently delivered.”