Veteran India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has taken aim at Rishabh Pant’s decision to withdraw a run-out appeal at the non-striker’s end during the final IPL 2025 league game between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Lucknow.
The incident occurred at a crucial juncture of the match when LSG’s Digvesh Rathi dislodged the bails at the non-striker’s end, spotting Jitesh Sharma out of his crease. Pant, however, chose to retract the appeal, a gesture that led to a warm hug from Jitesh. Despite the drama, the third umpire later clarified that Jitesh would have been declared not out anyway, as the bowler had already completed his delivery stride—making the dismissal void under the current rules.
Addressing the incident on his YouTube channel, Ashwin—who famously ran out Jos Buttler in similar fashion during a previous IPL—argued that Pant should have supported his bowler rather than undermine him publicly.
“A captain’s duty is to stand by his bowler, not diminish his confidence,” Ashwin said. “If you were going to withdraw the appeal, that conversation should have happened earlier. We don’t know if it did, but we must stop shaming young bowlers in front of millions. Why is it always the bowler who ends up looking bad? It’s humiliating.”
Ashwin also noted that Digvesh had previously dismissed Jitesh, only for the delivery to be ruled a no-ball—adding another twist to the young spinner’s misfortune.
While Pant was widely applauded for upholding the spirit of the game, Ashwin’s remarks present a contrasting viewpoint to this matter.
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