"Batsman has no business wandering out of his crease"- Ravi Shastri's no-nonsense statement on Deepti Sharma-Charlie Dean controversy
Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri gave his opinion on the 'spirit of cricket' debate that has sparked up ever since all-rounder Deepti Sharma ran out England's Charlie Dean on the non-striker's end.
The Women in Blue needed just one wicket to win the game and Deepti pretty much played within the laws of the game by running the non-striker out. Many former England cricketers, as well as those in the English media, questioned the sportsman spirit of the Indian team.
However, speaking to Fox Sports, Ravi Shastri backed Deepti Sharma and co. and said that there was absolutely nothing wrong in what they did. He said:
"My thoughts are very clear. It's a law. A batsman has no business wandering out of his crease before the ball is bowled. And the law in cricket says that if you are doing that, the bowler is perfectly entitled to take the bails off. "
Deepti Sharma ran out Charlie Dean.
A chunk of the cricketing world had a meltdown. Another section backed her.
The two groups fought and fought and fought.
Amidst all this, she just went about with her day job, and won the Player of the Tournament award at the Asia Cup.
Ravi Shastri even claimed that as a coach, he would have backed his team to use this to their advantage because it is within the laws of the game. He added:
"As a coach, I would tell my players 'Just go out and do it. It's a law. You're not cheating, you're not doing anything that is not part of the game. Batsman should know his business."
"A superb run-out at the non strikers end. Brilliant presence of mind by Deepti Sharma. Amazing display of the Laws of the game at Lords. India wins the series 3-0."
Above lines would have been possible if it was RAVI SHASTRI in the com box, but it was NASSER HUSSAIN 🤷🏻♂️🤦🏻 https://t.co/kWmUC6NCGf
Ravi Shastri feels 'warning a player' is unnecessary
Many felt that although Deepti played within the laws of the game, she should have atleast warned Dean about the latter backing up too much. However, Ravi Shastri rubbished this argument as he feels it is like any other mode of dismissal where batters aren't warned anyway.
On this, he stated:
"I don't believe this practice when you warn the player the first time and the second time you can do it. It's like me telling a fielder, 'You've dropped me once. Second time you can catch it'. If it's a law that says it is cheating. It is cheating because if you're going out of crease, you are trying to steal an advantage over the opposition and the bowler."
Can the T20 World Cup 2022 witness at least one such run-out? Let us know in the comments.