How about awarding the wicket to bowler for 'presence of mind': Ashwin tells Billings on Deepti's run out

Indian spinner R Ashwin took a cheeky dig at England star Sam Billings and came up with an interesting suggestion after Indian women's team all-rounder Deepti Sharma ran out England's Charlotte Dean at the non-striker's end during the third ODI between the two sides on Saturday. Dean's dismissal sealed India's 16-run win against the hosts as Harmanpreet Kaur & Co, whitewashed England 3-0 in the three-match series.

On the third ball of the 44th over, Deepti ran out Dean at the non-striker's end for backing up too far away from the crease before the release of the delivery. Deepti dislodged the bails midway through the bowling stride to run the England batterout for leaving the crease early.

Deepti's run-out of Dean has once again sparked the 'spirit of cricket' debate despite the dismissal being within the rules. Several England cricketers have reacted to the controversial dismissal and have criticised Deepti for running Dean out without a warning.

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The likes of Sam Billings, James Anderson and Stuart Broad have all reacted to the incident and accused Deepti of having no intention to bowl the delivery. Ashwin too joined the bandwagon and replied to Billings' tweet defending Deepti. The Indian spinner also suggested the bowler should be awarded the wicket when running a batter at the non-striker's end for their'presence of mind'.

"Imagine how many more wickets you could get James," Billings told Anderson, who had agreed with his tweet criticising Deepti. Ashwin too joined the conversation and wrote - "In fact that’s a great idea. How about awarding that wicket to the bowler for “ presence of mind” under immense pressure and of course knowing the social stigma that he/she would have to deal with post doing it. How about a bravery award to go with it too @ICC?."

In fact that’s a great idea. How about awarding that wicket to the bowler for “ presence of mind” under immense pressure and of course knowing the social stigma that he/she would have to deal with post doing it. How about a bravery award to go with it too @ICC ? https://t.co/9PqqetnnGw — Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) September 25, 2022

Ashwin was himself in the centre of controversy after he had 'mankaded' Jos Buttler during an IPL match between his former team Punjab Kings against Rajasthan Royals. However, the dismissal will no more be called Mankad and will be considered normal run-out, as per the new ICC rules.

Also Read:'I will back my players': Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's fiery response on Deepti's run-out wins Twitter

ICC had recently announced a host of changes in the playing conditions in international cricket, as per which a bowler attempting a run out at the non-striker's end is now under the 'Run Out' section and has been removed from the 'Unfair Play' section.

Nonetheless, Deepti's dismissal of Dean ha left the cricket world divided with opinions flowing in from all corners.