India’s batting legend Virender Sehwag on Wednesday took a dig at Eoin Morgan after the Kolkata Knight Riders captain’s on-field spat with Delhi Capitals‘ Ravichandran Ashwin. The England captain felt it wasn’t in “Spirit of the Game” when Ashwin tried stealing an extra run after KKR fielder Rahul Tripathi’s throw ricocheted off DC captain Rishabh Pant’s body. The two had an heated altercation during the match and had Dinesh Karthik, amongst other players, had to intervene. KKR beat DC by three wickets in a low-scoring encounter.

The incident sparked a debate in the cricketing fraternity and Virender Sehwag backed Ashwin, calling out on Morgan’s apparent hypocrisy. Delhi skipper downplayed the spat as a’ part and parcel’ of the game and KKR’s Dinesh Karthik presented Morgan’s point of view. It was Australian spin wizard Shane Warne who slammed Ashwin over his ‘disgraceful’ act on the field.

Sehwag reminded Morgan of the ICC 50-over World Cup final in 2019, when England were rewarded with four overthrows against New Zealand. Morgan and company went on to win the tournament. 

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“On July 14th , 2019 when it ricocheted of Ben Stokes’ bat in the final over, Mr. Morgan sat on a dharna outside Lord’s and refused to hold the World Cup trophy and New Zealand won. Haina? Bade aaye, ‘Doesn’t appreciate’ waale,” Sehwag tweeted.

During the final, a Martin Guptill throw had deflected off Ben Stokes’ bat while he was diving in an attempt to reach the crease to complete the second run. The ball ricocheted and went towards the boundary ropes, giving the hosts six runs, as they drew New Zealand’s target at Lord’s. The match went to a super over, which was again a draw. England won on boundary count. 

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Sehwag shared an excerpt from Dinesh Karthik’s press conference after KKR defeated DC in the IPL 2021. 

“Look, I know that when Rahul Tripathi threw the ball and it ricocheted off Rishabh Pant’s body, Ashwin called for it and they started to run,” Karthik said.

“I don’t think (Eoin) Morgan appreciated that. I think he is somebody who, when the ball hits the batsman or the bat, expects them not to run in ‘Spirit of Cricket’. Again it is a very grey area, it is a very interesting topic, I have my own opinion on it,” he added.