The controversy regarding the spat between India off-spinner Ravichandran Aswhin and England captain Eoin Morgan during the Indian Premier League 2021 match between Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders refuses to die down. An argument broke out in the match involving the two players after Ashwin tried to steal a single, as ball hit DC captain Rishabh Pant and went astray.

KKR wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, in the post-match press conference following KKR’s win revealed that Morgan did not appreciate Ashwin trying to steal a single, sparking once again the ‘spirit of cricket’ debate.

Also read: ‘Am I a disgrace like Morgan said I was?’: Ashwin, in a six-tweet thread, slams KKR captain and Tim Southee

Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag shared a screenshot of Karthik’s words and took a dig at Morgan, while recalling the 2019 World controversy involving Ben Stokes, when a throw from a Kiwi fielder hit Morgan and the ball ran to the boundary ropes.

“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 wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Kiwi allrounder James Neesham, who was part of New Zealand’s World Cup squad, was asked by a fan why the Kiwis did not complain about Stokes’ incident, after he said that he supports Morgan in the controversy.

In his response, Neesham said: “Because they’re runs if the ball crosses the boundary. But the etiquette of the game is that you don’t run if you’ve caused the deflection. It’s just one of those unspoken spirit of the game things.”

In a Twitter thread on Thursday, Ashwin took a dig at Morgan and explained his stance over the incident. “In Morgan or Southee’s world of cricket they can choose and stick to what they believe is right or wrong but do not have the right to take a moral high ground and use words that are derogatory,” Ashwin wrote while adding that he was standing up for himself.