The Indian Premier League 2019 was in just its third day and we witnessed something. Which will be discussed in every nooks and corner for some time. On Monday, Kings XI Punjab’s skipper Ravichandran Ashwin Mankaded Rajasthan Royals batsman Jos Buttler during a clash between two teams in Jaipur. The incident brews a debate among cricket fraternity whether Ashwin’s act was in the ‘Spirit of the Game’ or not.
Mankaded has been one of the most controversial ways to get a batsman out and it never goes down well to several cricket experts. We witnessed last such incident during ICC U19 World Cup 2016 in Bangladesh, where West Indies’ Keemo Paul caught Zimbabwe’s Richard Ngarava out of the popping crease to send his team through to the quarter-final. That Mankaded incident parted the whole cricket world in two parts and Ashwin’s one also did the same in no time.
Watch – Ashwin Mankaded Jos Buttler in Jaipur
Let’s have a deeper look at what befell yesterday in Jaipur. Othe n fifth ball of 13th over, Ashwin stopped before delivering the ball and disturbed the bails to get Buttler out. If one notices the footage closely, you will find when Indian spinner stopped before bowling, the batsman was, still, in his crease. But the bowler let him go two more steps ahead before hitting the stumps. On field umpire, C Shamshuddin referred the call to third umpire, Bruce Oxenford, an ICC Elite Panel umpire, who adjudged Buttler out.
In December 2018, Merylebone Cricket Club (MCC), cricket’s law making body, gave an insight of Mankading appeals and stated
“There is a slight change to Law 41.16. Which should further confirm the principle, established in the 2017 Code. That it is the non-striker’s duty to remain in his/her ground until the bowler has released the ball.”
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Hence, if one goes by the laws, there is nothing wrong what Ashwin did last night. He was playing the game according to the laws and Buttler was not supposed to leave the crease until bowler releases the ball. Though several cricket experts put a question mark on Ashwin’s sportsmanship, which, I believe, reflects their emotions.
Such incidents on the cricket field force you to see the whole incident through the glasses of your favorite team’s perspective. In a close no-ball call, we, cricket fans, only see the side on which we want it to be. If you are a Rajasthan Royals’ supporter. You must be fuming over Ashwin and are questioning his spirit of the game. On the other hand, KXIP fans see the incident so under the laws.
The moment has passed by and so should we. There was a thrilling contest last night in Jaipur, let’s talk about it. Steve Smith arrived back at the highest level of cricket and that wrist-flick for a six brought a massive nostalgia with it. We have another 56 games in this year’s IPL ahead of us; let’s get more excited about them. One never knows, what can come next from Pandora’s Box.
