India's limited-over discarded spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was engaged in a verbal duel with former South Africa batsman Herschelle Gibbs, who trolled the 31-year-old off-spinner for being slow on the fielding.
It all started with a brand promotion, for which Ashwin tweeted: "Hey Guys! Just got my hands on the new NIKE React. It’s got a stunning design and the foam technology used makes it light and comfortable to use. Undoubtedly, the best running shoes I’ve stepped into, can’t wait to flaunt them."
Criticising him for his lethargic approach on the field, Gibbs replied on his post: "Hopefully you will be able to run a bit faster now Ashwin."
Ashwin, who has 311 Test wickets to his name, couldn't take the insult and immediately attacked Gibbs for a match-fixing scandal.
"Surely not as fast you did mate, unfortunately, I wasn't as blessed as you were. But I was blessed with a wonderfully ethical mind not to fix games which put food on my plate," Ashwin tweeted, though he took his tweet down later.
Gibbs, who is about to turn 44 on Friday, was involved in match-fixing during South Africa’s tour of India. He was fined and suspended by Cricket South Africa after admitting his role in a match-fixing scandal in 2001.
Caught off guard with not much to say, Gibbs graciously stated it was best to move on from the incident.
"Can't take a joke I see anyway moving swiftly on," the South African said.
Realising he may have over-reacted, Ashwin went into damage control mode saying his reply was also a joke.
"I totally believed my reply was a joke too, but look how people and yourself perceived it. I am totally game for this sort of fun mate, we shall dine over this sometime," he tweeted.
(With PTI inputs)
