There have been plenty of chatter over Akash Deep’s sending off of Ben Duckett in the 2nd Day of the 5th and final Test between India and England where the pacer put his arm around the batter’s shoulder and walked a few steps with him. There was also a brief exchange between the two before KL Rahul pulled Akash deep away.
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Ravi Shastri and Michael Atherton shared their thoughts on the incident before the start of Day 3’s play at the Oval on Sunday.
“You imagine doing that to Viv Richards? I would have hated that if a bowler put his arms around me after just having dismissed me. Stay out of the way. It is a serious point. It seemed good natured and I like to give cricketers maximum leeway on the field because it’s an emotional, passionate game. I like to see them get stuck in, I don’t like to see match referees getting involved. But it’s a non contact sport and something like that will end in a problem. I think the match referee has to stamp that out,” Atherton said to Sky Sports.
“If Athers had put his hand around me getting me out, I would’ve said ‘Get out of the way!'” 😅
Ravi Shastri and Michael Atherton share their thoughts on the incident between Ben Duckett and Akash Deep 💭 pic.twitter.com/UyQzCX6uJL
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 2, 2025
“If Athers had put his arm around me after getting me out, I would be like “Get out of the way Athers,” Shastri said jokingly before adding on a serious note, “No physical contact. Because of what it can lead to. Duckett at that moment of time might have been thinking something else. Another player with a fiesty temperament wouldn’t have liked it. Could have done something which he would have regretted. You know just because it is being watched by millions around the globe and the match referee where the match referee will be forced to take action because of the ru7le and rule book.”
Meanwhile, Akash Deep scored a gritty 66 runs in the 3rd Day of the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England on Saturday. This was his highest ever Test knock and also his maiden half century in the longest format.
