The ‘Mankading’ debate resurfaced again during the Monday night fixture of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 between Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and Rajasthan Royals (RR) held at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
In the game, CSK all-rounder Dwayne Bravo was seen backing up too far outside the crease at the non-strikers’ end, even before the ball was bowled. The debate stirred the social media when the other half of the same image, where the bowler, Mustafizur Rahman, had overstepped and the third-umpire gave it a no-ball.
The image, which went viral on the internet, caught the attention of several experts, who criticised the idea of terming Mankading against the ‘spirit of the game’.
Even in the past, there have been a few incidents where after the bowler has run the batsman out in a similar fashion, but was considered against the spirit of the game. The most famous episode featured Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin when he ran Jos Buttler out in the 2019 edition of the cash-rich league.
In the game between CSK and RR, when the umpire penalised Rahman for overstepping by few inches, on-air commentators Harsha Bhogle and Simon Doull went on to question the idea of calling Mankading against the spirit of the game.
“Look where Bravo is. That is why I believe you’re entirely within your rights…it should almost be mandatory in team meetings to say, run him out. All this talk about not being in the spirit of the game is so much nonsense,” said Bhogle.
Doull also echoed Bhogle’s words and stressed how crucial it is to run out Bravo. The ironic thing in the whole incident was that the bowler was ahead of the crease by millimetres while the non-striker had taken such a huge advantage. Yet, the bowler got penalised while the non-striker got away.
Former India bowler Venkatesh Prasad tagged the official Twitter handle of ICC while reflecting on the viral image and said calling bowler’s attempt to go for Mankad when the batsman is far away from his creases against the spirit of the game is a joke.
“The bowler overstepping by a few inches is penalised, but a batsman backing up a few yards isn’t. The bowler has every right to run out a batsman backing up so far. PERIOD. Calling it against the spirit of the game is a joke. @ICC #CSKvRR” Prasad wrote on the micro-blogging website.
The bowler overstepping by a few inches is penalised, but a batsman backing up a few yards isn’t.
The bowler has every right to run out a batsman backing up so far. PERIOD.Calling it against the spirit of the game is a joke @ICC .#CSKvRR pic.twitter.com/vIHqbe6fWU
— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) April 20, 2021
