IPL 2021: Virender Sehwag names THIS player as 'biggest culprit' in Ravichandran Ashwin-Eoin Morgan spat

The 41st match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Delhi Capitals (DC) saw a war of words that took place between Ravichandran Ashwin and KKR debutant Tim Southee with the involvement of skipper Eoin Morgan.

The incident took place in the 19th over when Ashwin after his wicket fell, was walking back to the pavilion and was seen having a talk with Southee.

While Southee was the first to have a word with Ashwin, it led to the KKR skipper Eoin Morgan getting involved. The KKR captain and Ashwin too had a talk till finally Dinesh Karthik got in the way and took Ashwin away from the scene. 

the reason for the talk was because of Ashwin's act of stealing a single when the ball ricocheted off the willow of his skipper Rishabh Pant. This not just left with the war of words but also snowballed into a massive controversy. 

The likes of the KKR skipper and former Australian legend Shane Warne raised fingers on Ashwin's 'sportsmanship spirit'.

However, former India opener Virender Sehwag said that it was KKR wicketkeeper and former captain Dinesh Karthik, who was the major culprit for the controversy and blamed him for not playing down the incident to the media.

"I consider Dinesh Karthik the biggest culprit in all this. If he had not talked about what Morgan said, there would have been no such uproar. If he had said, ‘It was nothing much, just an argument, it happens in the game, move on,’ then it would have come out in that sense only. What was the need for an explanation that someone thinks this or that?" Sehwag was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz website.

This statement of Sehwag comes after, Karthik, in the virtual post-match press conference claimed he played peacemaker saying, "Rahul Tripathi threw the ball, it hit Rishabh Pant, and then it ricocheted off that. Then Ashwin called for it and they started to run. I don't think Morgan appreciates that. He is somebody who, when the ball hits the batsman or the pad, expects them not to run in the spirit of cricket. It's a very grey area and a very interesting topic. I have my own opinion on it but at the moment I'd just say I am happy I played peacemaker and things have come to a good standstill right now."

Sehwag recounted an incident from his playing days for Punjab Kings (PBKS) snd said, "Even when I was playing for Punjab, Ashwin dismissed Maxwell, picked up some dust and blew it off (in celebration). I didn't like that scene either but I didn't come out publicly to say that he should not have done that or it was against the spirit of the game, although MS Dhoni was very angry about it and scolded him a lot too," said Sehwag.

The former player said that players should leave what happens on the ground inside the ground. "What happens inside should remain inside. If more things from the inside start coming out, I can guarantee every match will have something like this that will cause an uproar. The spirit of the game also says that players should leave what happens inside the ground as is and move on," said Sehwag.

As for the incident, DC skipper Rishabh Pant and Ashwin had picked a second run off the last ball of the 19th over and that was what had irked the KKR outfit. Many considered it to be against the guidelines of Fair Play as a run was taken when the ball thrown by the fielder ricochets off the batter.

DC coach Ricky Ponting was also seen speaking to umpire Nitin Menon during the innings break, however, it is not known what the topic of discussion was between the two.