The controversial Mankad dismissal in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Monday, triggered cricketing greats including Shane Warne. Warne labelled the incident “disgraceful” while Mitchell Johnson claiming it was not an act of cheating, and commentator Harsha Bhogle too backed Ravichandran Ashwin.
Ashwin ran out Jos Buttler at the non-striker’s end in the Rajasthan Royals’ season opener against Kings XI Punjab in Jaipur, as he wandered out of his crease prior to Ashwin’s delivery stride, assuming the Indian spinner was about to deliver the ball.
Instead, the Kings XI captain paused and saw Buttler leave his ground before whipping off the bails.
Ashwin run out Butler pic.twitter.com/ixwL0F2RGB
— saqib amir (@AmirSaqib) March 26, 2019
Buttler, who was playing alongside former Australia captain Steve Smith in his IPL return for the Royals, was forced to depart the scene and he exchanged angry words with Ashwin.
This incident has divided the cricketing world, the Mankad technique, which is not illegal under the laws of the game. Former Australian captain Warne accusing Ashwin of performing a “low act”.
So disappointed in @ashwinravi99 as a Captain & as a person. All captains sign the #IPL wall & agree to play in the spirit of the game. RA had no intention of delivering the ball – so it should have been called a dead ball. Over to u BCCI – this a not a good look for the #IPL
— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) March 25, 2019
The retired Test fast bowler Johnson belonging to the opposite camp tweeted he did not believe Ashwin had cheated because the move was not illegal according to cricket’s rule book.
https://twitter.com/MitchJohnson398/status/1110313750790180865
Meanwhile Harsha Bhogle posted a series of tweets over the dismissal of Buttler.
Lots of drama on the Buttler run-out. He was livid but the law and the advisory on it is clear. The bowler is within his right to run a player out at the non-striker's end if he is out of his crease
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 25, 2019
I am hearing a lot of talk about spirit of the game. This law specifically came in because, taking recourse to this very "spirit of the game" batsmen were running 6 inches less to complete a run.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 25, 2019
My final point on this. Ashwin ran Buttler out. It went to the 3rd umpire who is on the ICC Elite panel. He looked at the replays & said the non-striker was out. He is the custodian of the laws & playing conditions. So irrespective of what Ashwin did, it was the umpire's decision
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 25, 2019
The Mankad method of dismissal has long been one of the most contentious in the game. It was named after Indian bowler Vinoo Mankad, who created controversy when he dismissed Australian batsman Bill Brown twice in a similar manner at the Sydney Cricket Grounds in a test match in 1947.
It occurs when a bowler removes the bails at the non-striker’s end of the wicket to catch a batsman out of his crease when he is “backing up”. Batsmen stray out of their crease to help reduce the distance they have to run for a quick single.
According to the ICC Law 41.16 — Non-striker leaving his/her ground early
If the non-striker is out of his/her ground from the moment the ball comes into play to the instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball, the bowler is permitted to attempt to run him/her out. Whether the attempt is successful or not, the ball shall not count as one in the over.
If the bowler fails in an attempt to run out the non-striker, the umpire shall call and signal dead ball as soon as possible.
(The Pigeon Express Opinion – Firstly, as per ICC laws the non-striker can’t leave the crease until the bowl is bowled. Secondly, even if Ashwin was wrong, it was put to the third umpire who ruled it an out. Finally, people say Ashwin should have given a warning first before dismissing him, and this is debatable. However, in T20 format of the game you might not get many chances to dismiss the batsman, and a warning may have caused KXIP their win.)