‘It was within the rules’ – Ravi Ashwin defends controversial Mankad dismissal
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 25: Ravi Ashwin of India looks on during an Australian training session at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 25, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
Ravi Ashwin has insisted he acted ‘within the rules of cricket’ after his mankad dismissal of Jos Buttler sparked worldwide condemnation of his actions.
In the IPL encounter between Ashwin’s Kings XI Punjab and Buttler’s Rajasthan Royals, the spinner resorted to the ploy with Buttler stood at the non-striker’s end on 69.
Ruled a fair dismissal by the third umpire, Kings captain Ashwin refuted the notion his actions were contrary to the spirit of the game because it’s in the rules.
“On my part it was very instinctive and it was not planned or anything like that,” Ashwin said after the game.
“It is there in the rules of the game. I don’t know where the understanding of the spirit of the game comes from because quite naturally if it’s there in the rules, it’s there.
“So probably the rules need to go back and be sorted.”
Royals were well placed to chase down their target of 185 for victory, and they had Buttler to thank for his innings as opener.
The England and Lancashire batsman had scored a 43-ball 69 when he fell victim to Ashwin’s skullduggery.
A flashpoint which saw the Royals fall from 108-2 to 158-6 in five overs.
Royals coach Paddy Upton remained implicit in his comments about the Mankad incident, as his side fell 14 runs short in slipping to defeat.
“I think R Ashwin’s actions tonight speak for him and represent him. When I looked in the eyes of his teammates I’m not sure if it represented his teammates,” Upton said.
“I think we’ll leave it up to the IPL fans to decide if that’s the kind of thing they want to see and we’ll leave it up to the cricket world to judge Ashwin’s actions tonight.”
Law 41.6, which was amended as recently as April 2017, says: “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.”
