Ashwin was well within his rights, but I would have preferred a warning: Rahul Dravid

Mumbai: The controversial ‘mankading’ incident involving Ravichandran Ashwin and Jos Buttler during an Indian Premier League (IPL) match has divided the cricketing fraternity.

During the Rajasthan Royals-Kings XI Punjab clash on Monday, Ashwin was seen deliberately removing the bails instead of bowling the delivery as Buttler stepped out of the crease from the non-strikers end.

This decision by Ashwin to dismiss Buttler this way sparked outrage on social media and saw many current and former players express their angst.

Meanwhile, Rahul Dravid also opened up on the ongoing controversy, saying that Ashwin was well within his limits.

“It's within the laws of the game and that's pretty clear. So I don't have a problem with someone deciding to do it. Ashwin was well within his rights to do what he did. However, personally, I would prefer it if somebody warns someone first. That would be my personal choice, but I respect someone's view to think differently. I might not agree with it necessarily, but I would just have to agree to disagree whether someone should run someone out without warning him,” the former Karnataka cricketer said to Times of India.

Dravid continued to defend the under-pressure Tamil Nadu cricketer. -

“I think some of the reactions were overblown. Questioning Ashwin's character because he did that is totally wrong. He has every right to his view. You might not agree with it, but it was well within his rights to do it and that does not make him a bad person. Like I said, I would rather he had warned first, but if he chose not to do it, then that's his interpretation and you can't have issue with that. It is not about being a gentleman or a non-gentleman,” he said.

This is not a judgement on his character, but his reading of the law. He has not cheated anybody, nor is he a bad person because he did that,” he added.