New Delhi: It has been seven years since the controversial ‘Mankding’ run-out incident. Ravichandran Ashwin And Jose Butler During the IPL 2019 match between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals. Ashwin, then playing for Punjab, ran out Buttler at the non-striker’s end, sparking a heated exchange between the players and reigniting the debate over the spirit of cricket.Buttler was dismissed and left the field looking distraught.Seven years later, the incident has once again come up for debate, with Ashwin insisting he did nothing wrong.“If the ICC feels it’s an issue of honesty, they won’t put it in the rules. If you need two runs off a ball and you start running early, whose fault is it?” Ashwin said on JioStar’s The Ravichandran Ashwin Experience.“People say I did it to win, of course I did it to win, what is there to be ashamed of?“When I ran him out, I told the team… ‘Don’t worry about the reaction, I’ll handle the media, we just have to win.’ And we won. So, there is no problem of character,” he said. Ashwin is only sorry.With 187 wickets in 221 matches in an IPL career spanning 2009 to 2025 across five franchises, Ashwin admitted that he did not quite come into his own despite leading Punjab Kings in 2018-19, but described his tenure with Rajasthan Royals as his most fulfilling.“When Punjab selected me in 2018, I knew I was moving on… I spent two years there and honestly gave it my all.“But I have a bit of a feeling that I can’t make this team my own. In the auction, you get to build your team… The team can’t be built around me. I may not have achieved much as captain, but there was a lot to learn.”On his time with Rajasthan Royals, he added: “I spent three years there, and that stint helped me get back into the Indian team. The way RR used me was first-class, and I enjoyed my cricket there like nowhere else.”“My only small regret is that I didn’t win the title with RR… it was a small regret,” he said.
