Now, Chandrakant Pandit backs under-fire Ashwin

MUMBAI: Noted domestic coach and former India stumper Chandrakant Pandit has backed under-fire India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for having controversially 'Mankaded' England's 'keeper-bat Jos Buttler in an IPL game.
"What wrong has he done to be blamed like that? Has he broken the rules of the game? He was simply following them. If you're talking about the spirit of the game, why wasn't Buttler aware about it? I mean, whether he had that intention or not, he was breaking a rule when he was standing two yards outside his crease.
"In a T20 game, this can help him steal a run which may make the difference in the end.Since he's been run out in this fashion in the past, he should've been aware about the rules. He shouldn't expect sympathy from somebody on this issue," Pandit, who coached Vidarbha to two consecutive Ranji Trophy titles in the past two years, told TOI on Thursday.
Pandit gave a few examples to illustrate his point. "Don't bowlers fire bouncers at the No. 11 batsman, knowing fully well that he can't play bouncers? However, bowlers still do it to get him out. Is that in the spirit of the game? You do it because it's within the rules, and you want to win a game. Why don't batsmen 'walk' until they're given out then," he said.