Ashwin gives his verdict on Shakib-Mathews timed-out controversy, reveals how he came to know about rule

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Ravichandran Ashwin has weighed in on the time-out controversy which made headlines after Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan opted to appeal for the mode of dismissal and the umpire declared Sri Lanka veteran Angelo Mathews out at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Monday.

As per the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 playing conditions Rule 40.1.1, the new batter arriving in the middle has to be ready to receive the ball, or for the other batter to be ready to receive the next ball within 2 minutes of the dismissal.

The straps of Angelo Mathews' helmet came off as he geared up to face the first delivery. Shakib Al Hasan made a timed-out appeal after suggestion from one of his teammates and the umpire had to rule Angelo Mathews out. The former Sri Lanka captain also requested Shakib to revert his appeal, but the latter stuck to his decision.

As expected, the 'Spirit of Cricket' debate sparked and the cricket fraternity found themselves divided over it once again. Star India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has declared Shakib Al Hasan and Angelo Mathews in their own rights.

'After the fall of a wicket or the retirement of a batter, the incoming batter must, unless Time has been called, be ready to receive the ball, or for the other batter to be ready to receive the next ball within 2 minutes of the dismissal or ..

"One side is talking about the rules and another side is talking about the spirit of cricket. When Mathews came out to bat, his helmet was not okay, and he wanted to change that. I saw another video where Shakib did not bring his guard against Sri Lanka and he was allowed to bring it later. It has almost become warfare between these two countries," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel on Friday.

"Actually with timed-out, yes Shakib appealed and the umpire gave it out, agreed. Recently, there has been information that Mathews was already warned by the umpires about the timed-out dismissal. But Mathews was really upset that he got out, and rightly so. No one should get out like that, everyone will feel bad about that," he added.

Ashwin reveals his introduction with timed-out dismissal during IND vs AUS Test

Further, the 36-year-old also revealed the moment when he was introduced to the seriousness of the law during an India versus Australia Test match in Nagpur. He said he slowly strolled to the middle to ensure that the ongoing over was the last of the day.

"I wanted to go slowly so that it would be the last over and be called stumps. But then the umpire told me, 'You came to the crease a bit late. Do you know that if they had appealed I would have given you out.' I was really shocked," he said as he opined that not many teams are still aware of this dismissal," Ashwin said.

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the World Cup 2023. Shakib Al Hasan will not feature in his side's last league match against Australia as he is back in Bangladesh with a fractured finger. Sri Lanka lost their last match of the World Cup 2023 against New Zealand on Thursday by five wickets.