The 'Mankading' debate flared up again on Monday after the Chennai Super Kings 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 was sparked off in the context of the other half of the same image, where the bowler, Mustafizur Rahman had overstepped and it was called a no-ball.
In the 'Gentlemen's game', Mankading is still considered as something against the spirit of the game, despite being in the laws which say that the bowler within his rights to run the batsman out if he is out of his crease to take the run, even before the ball is bowled.
There have been a few famous incidents in the past where after the bowler has run the batsman out, it is considered against the spirit of the game, the most famous being the one where the off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin ran Buttler out in the 2019 IPL. However, on Monday in Match No 12 of the 2021 edition of the IPL between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, most of the experts weighed in on why 'Mankading' shouldn't be considered illegal after all.
During the game, analyst and expert Harsha Bhogle on commentary said, “You cannot be there. He has stolen more than a yard there, Dwayne Bravo.
“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. He has taken a yard! I never understood how it is in the spirit of the game to run less and claim the run. That is against the spirit of the game.”
Former Indian fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad also said that all that talk of 'Mankading' being against the spirit of the game' is a joke.
Here are some of the reactions:
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
Strong from Harsha Bhogle on TV just now.
"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." pic.twitter.com/48G4WNhs82
— Geoff Lemon Sport (@GeoffLemonSport) April 19, 2021
Totally support Mankading !! It’s legal and not unsporting !! https://t.co/iIdf4S2MVK
— Gulshan Devaiah (@gulshandevaiah) April 20, 2021
Spirit of cricket, eh? Where do Ricky Ponting and the crickets’s moral police stand on this? The bowler is penalised for centimetres, while the batsman steals metres. And the bowler needs to warn him? And not run him out? #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/2WkGTYdAZ4
— Hemant (@hemantbuch) April 20, 2021
How fair this is? Bowler just went an INCH forward and its one extra run plus freehit on next ball, while Batsman, way advances from his crease, still NOTHING. Absolutely shitty rules. There must be more of "Mankading" in order to stop the batsman doing this. pic.twitter.com/0cYU6Hgk5f
— Advocate Kuldeep Dhanesha (@im_advocate_kpd) April 20, 2021
This is why I support Mankading. If you don't want to be runout, don't leave the crease until the ball is bowled. Bowlers who've done it always have faced flak but I see no reason why they should. The game is already imbalanced. https://t.co/LZJQ4Qp480
— Abhi (@abhishrekkk) April 20, 2021
Bizarrely, the bowler in that picture will be penalised for over stepping a line whereas the batter will moan - and be supported in that moan by many - if he is penalised for his indiscretion regarding the same line
— Ian Myers (@TweekySenior) April 19, 2021
Still trying to work out why people say it is wrong to Mankad a batsman. Your out of your crease before the ball has left the hand, you are trying to gain an advantage and you cry foul when a bowler does what is legal. #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/simuH13lHm
— Brad Hogg (@Brad_Hogg) April 20, 2021