The history of Mankading is important since this bizarre mode of dismissal has been making all the noise in international cricket recently. Mankading is such a controversial dismissal in the world of cricket. In this, a bowler can run out a non-striking batter if he has backed up too far or has left the bowling crease to do so.
Will mankading happen in the ODI World Cup? Many captains have stated they wouldn’t use it, but there are no guarantees it won’t happen again. Meanwhile, make sure to put your prediction skills to the test on an ODI World Cup betting and double your thrill during the 2023 World Cup.
History of Mankading
How did Mankading come into existence? India’s Vinoo Mankad first used it during a Test match in Australia in 1947-48. While Mankad was bowling, he saw Australia batter Bill Brown leaving his crease. The India cricketer wasted no time and removed the bails in a flash.
The crowd immediately booed Mankad. Some were so disgusted that they named this dismissal after him as ‘Mankad.’ Nevertheless, teams never really used Mankading until the last five years. Players became more imaginative and exploited every opportunity to win the match. As it became a bone of contention, ICC swiftly amended the law, legitimizing this mode of dismissal.
Mankading | Is It Fair Play?
Over the years, Mankading became acceptable to the public, but Ravichandran Ashwin, then playing for Punjab Kings, ‘mankaded’ Rajasthan Royals batter Jos Buttler during IPL 2018, and the furor started. Later, when Indian bowler Deepthi Sharma ‘mankaded’ England’s Charlie Dean in 2022, the cricketing world got so polarized that both nations fought on behalf of their players on social media.
Mankading came into existence due to a freak accident. But over the years, people have debated if it is fair play. Running out the batter when he had backed up too far unknowingly certainly looked harsh on TV. However, the debate reached a tipping point when in 2018, Ashwin ran out Buttler.
In September 2022, India’s Deepti Sharma ran out of England’s Charlie Dean as she had backed up too far. India won the match, but Sharma faced the brunt of angry fans on Twitter. This incident in 2022 divided the cricket world even further.
ICC Makes Mankading Legal
However, just a week earlier, the International Cricket Council had, in fact, made a change to the rule book. According to rule number 41.16.1 of the MCC rule book, Mankading was now a legitimate mode of dismissal – however, the rule applied from October 1.
Top Three Heated Mankading Incidents
Although it is still early to say that the furor involving Mankading is over, we will use this section to see the top three Mankading incidents that left the teams and spectators bitter. Teams are competitive in international cricket, and no one wants to back down. In such a scenario, if a player becomes the victim of Mankading, it baffles them.
So, let’s review the two controversial ‘mankading’ incidents that created an uproar in cricket:
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Ravichandran Ashwin vs Jos Buttler:
- In one of the most-fired-up incidents in IPL, Punjab Kings’ then skipper ran out Rajasthan Royals’ opening batter, who was backing up way too far. Ashwin used the opportunity and removed the bails in a flash. It left the whole stadium and the batter flustered.
As the Royals batter nodded and walked off, Ashwin justified his decision to the umpire. The off-spinner won the battle but was trashed on social media for violating the spirit of the game.
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Deepthi Sharma vs Charlie Dean:
- Four years later, India’s Deepthi Sharma went into her delivery stride only to stop it midway through the third ODI match against England. Meanwhile, the non-striker Charlie Dean thought the ball had been bowled, and she backed out of the crease. On the other hand, Sharma removed the bails in a flash, leading to absurd scenes.
A shocked Dean left the ground in tears as India won the match and the series 3-0. The incident became the talk of social media, where many former players slammed Deepti’s action while many supported the India all-rounder.
Concluding Thoughts
As of now, there is a clear grey area. Some Puritans still chastise this mode of dismissal, verbally attacking the players who have deployed Mankading in the first place. Meanwhile, there is the other group, which favors the mankading dismissal and cites the new ICC law to back their claim. In the future, it needs to be seen if Mankading will be accepted by the old and young alike.
