Stokes: I would never ever ever 'Mankad' Kohli!

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Jaipur, March 26: Ben Stokes has weighed in on cricket's 'Mankad' debate, saying he could not be tempted to use the tactic - even in a hypothetical Cricket World Cup final meeting with Virat Kohli.

Ravichandran Ashwin prompted fury on Monday when he stopped his bowling action in an Indian Premier League match to stump the wandering Jos Buttler, giving the Rajasthan Royals batsman no warning.

Kings XI Punjab had previously had no answer to Buttler, who was 69 not out off 43 balls and was incensed by Ashwin's actions.

The India spinner came in for intense criticism, but he insisted he had done nothing wrong and dismissed references to "the spirit of the game".

"If Ben Stokes did what Ashwin did to Virat Kohli, it would be OK?" Warne said to those defending Ashwin.

"I'm just very disappointed in Ashwin as I thought he had integrity and class. Kings lost a lot of supporters tonight - especially young boys and girls! I do hope the BCCI does something."

Having received numerous messages on the subject, Buttler's Royals and England team-mate Stokes took to his own Twitter account to respond.

"Hopefully I'm playing in the World Cup final and, if Virat Kohli is batting when I'm bowling, I would never ever ever ever ever ever ['Mankad' him]," he wrote.

"[I'm] just clarifying to the mentions I've received."

The Royals will look to bounce back from their opening defeat when they face Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday, while the World Cup gets under way on May 30.