Ravichandran Ashwin sparked controversy in a recent game in the IPL 2019 by mankading Jos Buttler. Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals were engaged in a battle in Jaipur while Ashwin, the captain of the visiting side was preparing to bowl to Sanju Samson. Buttler, at the non-striker’s end, backed up too far and Ashwin removed the bails.
The on-field umpire referred it to the third-umpire who, in turn, ruled it out. The RR batsman was frustrated with the mode of dismissal and went off the field agitated. It was enough to trigger a debate in the cricketing fraternity. Many believed it was against the spirit of the game while some opined that it’s alright because it’s well within the laws of the game.
This was the first such incident in IPL history. But do you know where Mankad, the name of the dismissal came from? Interestingly, it has an Indian connection with it too.
History of Mankad
Whenever a bowler runs out a batsman, he is said to be Mankaded. The dismissal derives its name from the most famous such incident. Vinoo Mankad, the former Indian bowler, is said to be the originator of this mode of run-out.
During India’s tour of Australia in 1947, Mankad ran Bill Brown in this mode in the Sydney Test. Prior to that, he had inflicted the same dismissal against Brown when he was representing Australia XI. In the first incident, he had warned the batsman but not the second time around. Since then, that kind of run out went by the name of Mankad.
As per the laws of the game, the batsman at the non-striker’s end has to stay inside the crease until the bowler releases the ball. Quite often, the batsman backs up to run a shorter distance to complete a run. Some believe that it’s in the right spirit to warn the non-striker if he backs up too far before attempting the Mankad. But the law doesn’t mention anything about a warning.
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