"Haven't seen something like that" - AB de Villiers on India handed five-run penalty during third Test against England

Legendary South African cricketer AB de Villiers has expressed surprise at India being handed a penalty of five runs during the third Test against England in Rajkot. Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin ran on the danger area of the pitch and the on-field umpire reprimanded the hosts with a five-run penalty.

De Villiers explained how sometimes it is difficult as a batter to not think about anything else than running in a straight line when there's an opportunity to take a quick single.

Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, here's what AB de Villiers had to say (3:11):

"Ashwin running on the pitch was very interesting to me. I haven't seen something like that reflected on the scoreboard. Five runs scored and no balls bowled (laughs). It was the first for me, very interesting. As a batter sometimes you know it's a tight run and you wouldn't want to run sideways and then in a straight line as it would lead to a run-out. So this is really tricky."

Ashwin was seen having an animated discussion with the umpire after being penalized. While he had to withdraw from the game due to a family medical emergency, Ashwin was back on Day 4 to help India complete their biggest win in Tests ever in terms of runs margin (434).

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AB de Villiers had a special message to Ravichandran Ashwin

AB de Villiers also hailed Ravichandran Ashwin on becoming the ninth bowler in Test history to cross 500 wickets. He had a special message for the veteran off-spinner (6:43):

"Ash, if you ever listen to this, congratulations. You're one of the toughest bowlers I have played against, an incredible asset to the Indian team with both bat and ball. I had also tweeted that Jaddu and Ashwin are two such all-rounders together that you don't get in a team. He is a stalwart and doesn't always get enough credit for the player that he is and the role that he plays in the Indian team."

India have rested Jasprit Bumrah for the fourth Test to be played in Ranchi from Friday, February 23. This probably makes Ashwin's role even more crucial for the hosts to potentially try and seal the series.