Cape Town - Former Proteas batsman AB de Villiers has called for clarification of following the controversial Mankad dismissal, which took place on Monday in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
WATCH: Controversy follows Ashwin's 'Mankad' run-out of Jos Buttler
England batsman Buttler, playing for the Rajasthan Royals, was run out by Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin as he backed-up.
Replays of Monday's game suggested Buttler was still in his crease at the moment Ashwin would have been expected to release the ball, and therefore should not have been given out.
READ: MCC backtracks on Mankad judgement
Despite the dismissal being within the laws of the game, critics have viewed it as unsportsmanlike and not in the spirit of the game.
De Villiers weighed in on the issue in his column in the Times of India column and said he felt sorry for the Englishman.
"While R Ashwin's run-out of Jos Buttler at the non-striker's end provided controversy and a major talking-point. I felt sorry for Buttler because he wasn't trying to steal a run, and Ashwin did nothing wrong because he was operating within the laws," De Villiers wrote in his column.
"It's still a grey area, and Law 41.16 needs to be clarified. Either running a batsman out at the non-striker's end is legal or it isn't - can somebody please decide," he ended.
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