Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan’s praise for Team India skipper Rohit Sharma for withdrawing the Mankading appeal in the first ODI against Sri Lanka has left the fans of Ravichandran Ashwin and Deepti Sharma fuming. This was after Pathan said that Sharma’s heart was in the ‘right place’ referring to the latter’s decision to overrule Mohammed Shami.
Chasing a target of 374, Sri Lanka were reduced to 298-8 in 49.3 overs with skipper Dasun Shanaka batting at 98. Shanaka was at the non-striker end when Shami ran to deliver the fourth ball of the last over of the match. Shanaka was left stunned when Shami tried to Mankad him as he was short of the crease. This prompted the on-field umpire to refer the matter to the TV umpire for a final call.
However, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma looked bewildered by the development as he went to Shami to have a quick chat before informing the umpire that he was withdrawing the appeal for Mankading.
Later, speaking about his decision to withdraw the appeal, Sharma said that Shanaka had batted superbly against all odds and getting him out by Mankading did not appear to be fair. “Shami went for the appeal but he (Shanaka) is batting on 98, the way he batted was brilliant so we cannot get him out like that. We want to get him out the way we thought of getting him out was right and that (Mankad) wasn’t something we thought,” Sharma said after the match.
The Indian skipper earned praise from fans and cricketers from around the globe. Among them was Pathan, who tweeted, “Always felt that @ImRo45 has his heart at the right place. #INDvsSL.”
Always felt that @ImRo45 has his heart at the right place. #INDvsSL
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) January 11, 2023
Pathan’s comments, however, did not go down well with the fans of Ashwin and Deepti Sharma, the Indian woman cricketer, who had to face condemnation for causing disrepute to the game when she resorted tp Mankading to get an English batter out last year.
One fan wrote, “So, Ashwin or Deepti doesn’t have heart at right place?” Another commented, “So you mean people like Ash, Deepti, Harman have it at the wrong place?”
Shanaka went to play an unbeaten knock of 108 from 88 balls as Sri Lanka lost the match. Virat Kohli was adjudged Player Of The Match for century knock.
