I don’t become a villain for bowling one no-ball: Ashwin

India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Friday said that he should not be made a villain for bowling one of the two no-balls which proved to be a crucial factor in India’s World Twenty20 semifinal loss to the West Indies.

Ashwin’s was one of the no balls which gave Man of the Match Lendl Simmons a reprieve and helped him anchor West Indies’ successful chase of a stiff target of 193 at the Wankhede Stadium here.

“The day I went back home my dog had heat stroke. He had fits. It just showed me what is more important and what is very very important in life. I did not turn up a piece of paper for next three days. I haven’t read about what people had said,” Ashwin said ahead of his new franchise Rising Pune Supergiants’ opening IPL game against title-holders Mumbai Indians on Saturday. “There have been good enough journalists and knowledgeable people who said I had not bowled a no-ball for ages and to have bowled one no ball, I don’t become a villain.

If that’s the perception I don’t know how to counter that,” the bowler said at a media conference. Ashwin was widely castigated in the media for bowling a no-ball - being a spinner - off which he had Simmons caught at point, only for the batsman to escape on 15 and play a match-winning innings that knocked India out of the World T20 nine days ago. Ashwin took umbrage when a scribe asked him how he felt bowling with the wet ball because of dew, as the West Indies inched closer to India’s total. 

“When there was dew I did not bowl. It’s better you ask someone who actually bowled, to be very honest. I don’t know how it felt with the dew on. It’s very amusing because with the first 12 balls I bowled, I created a wicket opportunity as well,” he retorted.