Ravichandran Ashwin suggests alternative for 'Mankading', asks for 'free ball' for bowlers

India’s premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has sparked another debate when he suggested a “Free ball” for the bowler in case of a Mankading situation. Ashwin posted the tweet in reply to Dinesh Karthik’s tweet regarding the whole Mankading controversy.

Make it a free ball for the bowler. If the batsmen gets out of that ball, the batting team will be docked 5 runs. Free hit adds to the drama for a batter, let’s give a chance to the bowlers too. As of now everyone watches the game hoping that ‘the bowlers will get smacked today’ https://t.co/BxX8IsMgvF

— Ashwin  (@ashwinravi99) August 24, 2020

‘Mankad’ is a form of a run-out where the bowler is allowed to run-out the batsman at the non-striker’s end if the latter leaves the crease before the delivery is bowled.

A free hit is given to the batsman when a bowler bowls a no-ball in white-ball cricket. The following delivery after the no-ball is called a `free hit` and the batsman cannot be dismissed on that delivery other than run-out.

Ashwin in his tweet has suggested that there should be a `free ball` if the batsman on the non-striker end leaves the crease before the ball is bowled. Also, if the batsman gets out on the `free ball`, batting side `will be docked five runs'.

The 33-year-old, who is all set to represent Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) this season, further said that currently everyone watches the game to see the bowlers get smacked by the batsmen.

Last year during an IPL encounter, Ashwin, then representing King’s XI Punjab, had ‘Mankad’ Rajasthan Royals’ Jos Buttler after the latter had moved out of the crease before the delivery being bowled.

The dismissal of a well-set Buttler at a crucial juncture in the game turned the tide in Punjab’s favor as they went on to win the match. The whole incident sparked a plethora of debates on social media among the fans and cricketing pundits alike. A lot of the debates brought forward the question as to whether such a dismissal was against the spirit of the game.

Ashwin drew a lot of criticism following his Mankad dismissal of Buttler from various quarters of the cricketing sphere, but the spinner has always maintained that he was merely following the rules of the game.

This form of run-out is allowed under the ICC rulebook.  Here’s what the law says:

Law 41.16 Non-striker leaving his/her ground early: 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 overIf the bowler fails in an attempt to run out the non-striker, the umpire shall call and signal Dead ball as soon as possible.

Whatever side one chooses on the debate, this form of dismissal is officially in the rule-books.

The rule is named after India’s Vinoo Mankad, who became famous for invoking this form of run-out. During India's tour of Australia in 1947, Mankad ran-out Bill Brown when Brown had left the crease before Mankad had delivered the ball.