‘Applaud Alex Carey’s smartness’: Ravichandran Ashwin on Jonny Bairstow dismissal – Times of India

The controversial incident involving England batter Jonny Bairstow and Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey in the second Ashes Test has been hotly debated, after Australia went on to take a 2-0 lead in the series with a 43-run win at Lord’s on Sunday.
Chasing a daunting 371 to win, England were bowled out for 327 after a fighting century by skipper Ben Stokes (155).But tempers flared before that, when Carey dismissed Bairstow stumped.
The incident happened when Bairstow ducked the last ball of a Cameron Green over. Presuming the ball was dead, Bairstow left his crease to chat with non-striker Ben Stokes. But after collecting the ball, Carey threw down the stumps, with Bairstow out of his crease.The dismissal led to a ‘spirit of cricket’ debate. However, India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin felt it was smart cricket by Carey.
Quoting a fan’s tweet, who mentioned how Ashwin was criticized for dismissing Jos Buttler in the IPL by removing the stumps while bowling, Ashwin wrote: “We must get one fact loud and clear. The keeper would never have a dip at the stumps from that far out in a Test match unless he or his team have noticed a pattern of the batter leaving his crease after leaving a ball like Bairstow did.”

“We must applaud the game smarts of the individual rather than skewing it towards unfair play or spirit of the game,” Ashwin’s tweet further read.
The third Test will begin on July 6 at Headingley.