Not cool, Ash.
Former South African batsman Herschelle Gibbs and ace Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin were involved in a rather uncomfortable Twitter conversation on Monday.
It all started with Ashwin promoting a new pair of running shoes on his Twitter account. He waxed eloquent on the features of his new possession, telling his followers how he couldn't wait to step in to them.
Here's his tweet.
One of the first ones to react to Ashwin's tweet was none other than Gibbs. The explosive former Proteas opener poked fun at the Indian off-spinner, who isn't really known for his athleticism on the field, by saying he hopes the new pair of shoes will enable him to run faster. "Hopefully you will be able to run a bit faster now ashwin," wrote Gibbs.
Here's his post
All okay till now, one would think. But this is when things got a little heated between the two. From the looks of it, Gibbs' tweet seemed harmless, just some light-hearted banter with a fellow international cricketer. However, Ashwin clearly didn't see much humour in it and took a rather cheap shot at the 43-year-old. Gibbs was famously involved in a match-fixing scandal years ago, and Ashwin, clearly embarrassed by the jibe, pinched the South African where it would hurt most.
"Surely not as fast you did mate, unfortunately I wasn’t as blessed as you were. But I was blessed with a wonderfully ethical mind not to fix games which put food on my plate," wrote Ashwin.
Here's his tweet
Ouch!
Gibbs, thankfully, decided not to stoop as low and left the conversation in a dignified manner. "Can’t take a joke i see anyway moving swiftly on," he wrote.
Here's his post
Ashwin, clearly uncomfortable after his uncalled for remark, tried to salvage the situation by offering a lame explanation. "I totally believed my reply was a joke too, but look how people and yourself perceived it. I am totally game for this sort of fun mate, we shall dine over this sometime," he tweeted.
Here's his tweet
Ashwin then, in a matter of minutes, deleted his tweet where he spoke about Gibbs' fixing saga. We, however, made sure to save a screenshot of it for you.
Here it is
Twitterati, too, was fuming at Ashwin's remark. Fans suggested the off-spinner was frustrated having lost his place in India's limited-overs sides.
Here are some tweets
Well, all we'll say is that Ashwin should practice what he preaches and show some sportsman spirit. Gibbs' reply to his first tweet in no way deserved such a vile response. Hope an apology from Ashwin follows and better sense prevails next time.
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