IPL 2025: R Ashwin slams Rishabh Pant for withdrawing Digvesh Rathi's mankad appeal in LSG vs RCB clash

Rishabh Pant had withdrawn the mankad appeal of Digvesh Rathi in the LSG vs RCB match.

Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin reacted to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper Rishabh Pant withdrawing Digvesh Rathi’s mankad appeal against Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) skipper Jitesh Sharma. He said that it was a humiliation for the bowler as it would hamper his confidence. 

The drama was at its full tilt during the game between LSG and RCB, which took place at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Tuesday, May 27. While Rishabh Pant and Jitesh Sharma stole the limelight with their batting performance, Digvesh Rathi made the headlines for his antics. 

As the match was going down the wire, Digvesh Rathi came up with the brilliant presence of mind. The LSG spinner mankaded Jitesh Sharma, who was going great guns. The third umpire checked it and the stand-in RCB skipper was given out and was in disbelief. 

However, LSG skipper Rishabh Pant came up with the kind gesture. The keeper-batter withdrew the appeal, and it gave Jitesh Sharma a sigh of relief as he hugged Pant and then, after that, went on to win the game for his team with his unbeaten 85-run knock.

Ravichandran Ashwin on Rishabh Pant’s decision to withdraw appeal

Talking about Rishabh Pant’s decision to withdraw the appeal, saying that it was a humiliation for the bowler, as he will never do it again. He said that the LSG skipper’s decision would affect Digvesh Rathi. Speaking on his YouTube channel, he said: 

“It is a humiliation. What happens is a bowler feels so small that he will never do it again. And people will come and say in the comments here that he should not do it. Why? Why should it not be done? Digvesh Rathi is not my relative, he is not my friend. I don’t know who he is. But I am saying, you scar a bowler so much by doing this, that it will affect him.” 

Ravichandran Ashwin highlighted that Digvesh Rathi was insulted in front of crores of people. He also pointed out that withdrawing the appeal in that scenario holds no value. He added: 

“But because nobody cares about a bowler, in front of crores of people, the appeal will be withdrawn, and he can be insulted like this. Let’s talk about cricket for a second. According to the Laws of the Game, it went upstairs, the umpire said not out, and it is not out. There is no scene of withdrawal [of the appeal] in this.” 

Notably, Ravichandran Ashwin has been very vocal about the mankading mode of dismal. During one of the seasons, he himself dismissed Jos Buttler in a similar fashion.

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