Chris Tremlett: Ashwin’s Mankad was borderline cheating and should be banned from cricket for good
Ravichandran Ashwin’s conduct in the Indian Premier League has caused debate right across the cricketing world this week.
With his side, Kings XI Punjab, up against it on Monday the Indian spinner decided to run out Rajasthan Royals’ batsman Jos Buttler while he was backing up at the non-strikers’ end.
The dismissal, known as a “Mankad” after India’s Vinoo Mankad who first did it in 1947, is a valid mode of dismissal but the outcry from Buttler, his team-mates, head coach and the majority of onlookers showed its controversy.
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For me, Ashwin’s actions were unnecessary, below the belt and a poor piece of sportsmanship. Buttler was only marginally outside his ground – he wasn’t trying to cheat and if Ashwin had actually delivered the ball rather than whipping off the bails he might even have been in the crease.
As a cricketer you are taught to back up and stealing a yard doesn’t really make an awful lot of difference anyway.
Ashwin said afterwards he did it instinctively. I don’t buy it – he must have thought about it, and as Buttler has been the victim of the same thing against Sri Lanka five years ago it may have been at the back of his mind.
Role model
Ashwin is Kings XI’s captain and one of the most senior players in India. He is looked up to by millions of young fans and I think he has set a bad example with his borderline cheating.
Buttler’s dismissal proved a turning point in the game, with Rajasthan collapsing to fall short of their target. But despite getting the win, I feel Ashwin will come to regret what he did.
The Mankad may be in the rules but you see it happen so infrequently for a reason: it goes against an unwritten rule cricketers play by. The spirit of cricket means something.
Jos Buttler was also Mankaded by Sri Lanka's Sachithra Senanayake in 2014 (Source: Getty)
I was part of a Surrey side who were at the centre of a similar storm in 2012. Murali Kartik did exactly what Ashwin did to Somerset’s Alex Barrow at Taunton and our captain, Gareth Batty, didn’t remove the appeal when asked by the umpire.
We were booed from the pitch, with the Somerset fans in uproar and it created tension between the two sides for some time. Batty apologised afterwards and regretted his decision.
There was also a contentious incident at the Under-19 World Cup in 2016 when West Indies’ Keemo Paul ran out an opponent to take the final wicket and secure a win over Zimbabwe by just three runs.
These sorts of incidents seem to crop up from time to time, although I don’t think Ashwin will spark copycats due to the controversy that comes with it. Some backed him by saying it’s within the laws but that’s not an excuse in my book.
Ultimately I believe the rule itself needs to be looked at. The spirit of cricket means different things to different people so there needs to be clarity. If they banned Mankads that would draw a line under it for good.
We need to ensure the next generation of players come through with the right attitudes.