Jos Buttler was run out by R Ashwin in a controversial manner. (Source: IPL)
Senior India spinner R Ashwin has brought the long-standing issue of Mankading in cricket to discussion again. Ashwin, in a string of tweets on Tuesday, said,” Just hope that technology will see if a batsman is backing up before the bowler bowls a ball and disallow the runs of that ball every time the batter does so!! Thus, parity will be restored as far as the front line is concerned.”
He was responding to the new ICC law where the front-foot no-balls will be closely monitored by the third umpire in the ICC World Cup Super League, which begins on July 30 with the three-match ODI series between England and Ireland.
Just hope that technology will see if a batsmen is backing up before the bowler bowls a ball and disallow the runs of that ball every time the batter does so!!Thus, parity will be restored as far as the front line is concerned. #noball #dontbackup
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) July 28, 2020
The new rule will be implemented in both ODIs and T20Is. It is another step towards taking oversight of the front out of the domain of the on-field umpire in all international cricket. The ICC has already trialled the technology to monitor bowlers overstepping during the ODI series between India and West Indies.
The front-foot no-balls will be closely monitored by the third umpire. (FILE)
Ashwin, who has been at the centre of the Mankading debate since IPL 2019, took the discussion further on Twitter and said,” Many of you will not be able to see the grave disparity here, so let me take some time out to clarify to the best of my abilities. If the non-striker backs up 2 feet and manages to come back for a 2, he will put the same batsmen on strike for the next ball.”
The then-Kings XI Punjab skipper had run out Rajasthan Royals’ Jos Buttler at the non-striker’s end when he had strayed out of his crease. The incident caused the cricket world to be divided whether this was within the ‘spirit’ of the game.
“Putting the same batsmen on strike might cost me a 4 or a 6 from the next ball and eventually cost me 7 more runs instead of may be a 1 and a dot ball possibility at a different batsman. The same will mean massively for a batter wanting to get off a strike even in a test match,” he said.
The right arm off breaker, who has represented India in 71 Tests, 111 ODIs and 46 T20Is, also added, “It is time to restore the balance in what is an increasingly tough environment for the bowlers.#thefrontcrease #belongs to #bothparties @bhogleharsha we can use the same tech that we are proposing for a no-ball check 120 balls in a T 20 game.”