Cricketers speak up against the law of Mankading

The cricket fraternity has once again risen up in arms over the validity of Mankading. The controversial dismissal method was used by Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmad on Friday at the ICC U-19 4th Quarter-Final between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The spinner proceeded to run out non-striker Mohammed Huraira, who had stepped outside the boundaries of the crease.

Though the actions of the bowler were within the rules of the game, the controversy rages on whether Mankading is in the spirit of the game. Many veteran cricketers, including Mohammed Kaif, James Anderson, and Dale Steyn have voiced their displeasure against it.

Steyn voiced his sentiments on Twitter by replying to a video shared by Piers Morgan. “This sh*t’s getting outa hand,” he said.

English fast bowler James Anderson has always been against Mankading. On several occasions, he has asked ICC/MCC to make this method of dismissal against the rules. Indian cricketer R Ashwin replied to Anderson by saying that a shredder may “do the trick”, to which Anderson retorted “I wonder why Ravi wants the law to stay! #lovesamankad.” Ashwin then proceeded to reply “I am not taking the bait mate, my point was about the usefulness of a shredder and not the runout.”

Mankading has become a controversial topic in the game of cricket since its inception in 1948 when Indian cricketer Vinoo Mankad threw the stumps of Australia’s Billy Brown, who was not standing within the crease. The controversy surrounding the game was renewed last during the IPL when Ashwin dismissed Joe Buttler through this method.

While some cricketers want it to stay, as they believe the batsmen should stay within the confines of the crease at all times, others firmly believe it to be against the friendly spirit of the game, where the bowler is more focused on getting the opposition dismissed at any cost, rather than enjoying the game regardless of the results.