R Ashwin, the skipper of Kings XI Punjab, has gotten himself into some trouble with fans and cricket experts after he dismissed Rajasthan Royals batsman Jos Buttler by ‘mankading’ him.
For the uninitiated, ‘mankading’ means dismissing the batsman on the non-striker’s end if the bowler finds him standing outside the crease.
Bowling to Ajinkya Rahane, Ashwin did the same with Buttler. In the 13th over of the match Ashwin clipped the bails and appealed for dismissal, claiming that Buttler had left the crease. There was also an intense discussion between the two but ultimately Buttler was declared out.
However, this didn’t go down very well as some people noted Ashwin’s actions to be against the spirit of the game because he waited for Buttler to leave the crease. Some, on the other hand, said that it was in accordance with the rules.
What the !!! I doubt if this can be given out even by the rule book 🤔
— T R B Rajaa (@TRBRajaa) March 25, 2019
The way I see it he was not stepping out too much!!! Batsman looks “in” when the bowler was in his release stride! Hayden said it right & the game changed there !!! Not fair even by school standards ! #Mankad pic.twitter.com/Aq2VMwVyz1
Joss Butler is a professional cricketer who should be aware that the rules have changed and the bowler does not need to warn anyone. If the batsman can get the advantage of a few extra seconds drifting out early for a run, the bowler has every right to run him out. #Mankading
— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) March 26, 2019
No, Ashwin didn’t cross the line. Buttler did.#Mankading
— Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) March 26, 2019
It’s within the laws of the game but Jos Butler should have been warned by Ashwin before that. Very Surprised ! Remember Ashwin doing the same in an international game where Sehwag withdrew the appeal.
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) March 25, 2019
The “spirit of cricket” is about honestly and fairly following the laws of cricket.
— Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) March 26, 2019
It’s not about ignoring some law of cricket because someone, for some reason, has deemed it “unfair”.#Mankading
I think this Ashwin #Mankading incident is reasonable … teams play to win, and we’ve come a long way from this being a gentleman’s game. If this is wrong, then Ashwin needs to apologise to everybody for bowling straight after saying he’ll bowl spin.
— Danish Sait (@DanishSait) March 26, 2019
2/2
— Kasturi Shankar (@KasthuriShankar) March 25, 2019
BTW, Jos Buttler is a serial offender. In 2014, he was caught straying off the crease by srilanka’s Sachithra Senanayake ENGvsSL 5th ODI at edgbaston
#RRvKXIP #mankading #RavichandranAshwin pic.twitter.com/lS8lN9djdu
Yes Ashwin may have been wrong for #mankading Buttler, but Buttler was also wrong for wandering out of his crease, something for which he’s been punished for in the past, so why does he keep doing it? The laws regarding this are clear. Don’t do it. #IPL2019 #RRvKXIP
— ThePoppingCrease (@PoppingCreaseSA) March 26, 2019
I can’t believe what I’m seeing!! @IPL Terrible example to set for young kids coming through. In time I think Ashwin will regret that.
— Eoin Morgan (@Eoin16) March 25, 2019
If @josbuttler had been warned well that’s fine … if he hasn’t and it’s the first time I think @ashwinravi99 is completely out of order … watch how often this happens from now on !!!!!!! #IPL
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 25, 2019
Oh Ravi Ashwin just mankad Jos Buttler. But he stopped in his run up and Buttler was in 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️ #VIVOIPL #RRvKXIP pic.twitter.com/nF5lBfHF1C
— Scot Munroe (@scot_munroe) March 25, 2019
Nothing in the laws though about warning. Just as there is nothing in the laws about a wicket keeper warning a batsman for being out of the crease and not stumping him https://t.co/OqYypMiRIQ
— 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
Just to carry my point further, and there is no bias or prejudice here, if on any of these deliveries, especially 12.1, if Buttler had made his ground in a run-out at the other end by a fraction of an inch, wouldn’t he have benefited from being outside the crease? https://t.co/UPhXWKkUim
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 26, 2019
Harsha, if that had of been an international player you would have nailed him ! Please do not be bias & stick up for your own. Any player in the game that does that to anyone is an embarrassment to the game & as captain it’s even more disgraceful ! #spiritofthegame ! https://t.co/4PqLL1MzBT
— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) March 25, 2019
Last point on the embarrassing & disgraceful act of @ashwinravi99 ! This win at all costs mentality has got to stop & the integrity of the game along with the spirit of the game must be of the most importance, as we need to set examples to the young boys & girls playing cricket !
— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) March 25, 2019
Following the upheaval, this is what Ashwin said about his controversial action.
No real argument on that and it was pretty instinctive. I didn’t even load and he just left the crease. We ended on the right side of the coin, but I definitely think that those are game-changing moments and batsmen need to be wary of it.
“My actions were within cricket’s rules, can’t be called unsporting.”
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 25, 2019
– @ashwinravi99 responds to accusations of him unfairly running out @josbuttler. #RRvKXIP #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/ygOmyGTzCL
This controversy doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon.
