Ashwin said that Rajpoot had agreed to mankading after a little bit of persuasion but at the time of the delivery, Rajpoot "froze".
Follow Us
One of veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s most infamous moments was the mankading incident against the Rajasthan Royals when he was a part of the then Kings XI Punjab franchise in 2019. Ashwin had dismissed English batter, Jos Buttler, when he stepped too far out of the non-striker’s crease. The incident received mixed reactions and will remain as one of the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) most memorable moments. Recently in an interview with former Indian spinner Murali Karthik, Ashwin revealed that he had suggested the same to young pacer Ankit Rajpoot in the same season against Mumbai Indians (MI). Ashwin revealed that fears of facing backlash from fans and ex-cricketers prevented Rajoot from going through with it.
“After the incident happened against Rajasthan (Buttler Mankading), in the next match we were playing Mumbai. The last-wicket pair of Rahul Chahar and Alzarri Joseph was batting. One ball and two runs to win. I went to the bowler Ankit Rajpoot and told him, ‘These batsmen will be charging out to run. Just stop and send them back in if he (non-striker) starts running before you deliver’,” Ashwin said.
Rajpoot had initially declined the suggestion but after a little bit of persuasion, the former Kings XI Punjab captain said that the bowler had agreed. However, at the time of the delivery, Rajpoot “froze”.
“He came and said to me, ‘If I do this, it will create controversy and I will be made the villain’,” Ashwin said. “I told him, ‘what you are doing here is correct. The non-striker is at fault here’,” he added.
Rajpoot’s decision eventually proved to be costly as Mumbai Indians won the match with two runs needed off the final delivery. As per Ashwin, the non-striker was “halfway down the ground.”
Despite the overwhelmingly negative reception mankading receives, it is not actually illegal. Law 41.16 by MCC states, “If the non-striker is out of his/her ground from the moment the ball comes into play to the instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball, the bowler is permitted to attempt to run him/her out. Whether the attempt is successful or not, the ball shall not count as one in the over.”
“It is up to both teams to ensure that the game is played within both the Laws and the Spirit of Cricket. Non-strikers must be careful not to gain an unfair advantage by leaving their ground early,” it adds.
