What is ‘Mankading’ in Cricket and did you know it was named after THIS Indian bowler?

‘Mankading’ is a much-maligned term in Cricket. When Ravichandran Ashwin ‘mankaded’ Jos Buttler on March 25, 2019, which saw a huge controversy break out in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The match between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in 2019 became a big talking point in the world Cricket. Buttler was run out for 69 by Ashwin as he ‘mankaded’ the English batsman.

The basic meaning of the term is that a bowler can run out the non-striker batsman if he tries to step out of the crease when the bowler releases the ball. Often, the batters of the non-striker’s end are seen stepping out of the crease well in advance as a headstart, to run between the wickets.

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This is an unfair practice, and so, the bowlers tend to ‘mankad’ the batters while running them out.

The move was previously legal, however, it wasn’t considered in the spirit of the game. After the huge Furore in IPL 2019, when Ashwin ‘mankaded’ Buttler, the term has been a big talking point.

Recently, the custodian of the Cricket laws, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), decided to move the law relating to run-outs at the non-striker’s end from the “unfair play” section, to the “run-out” section, meaning that ‘Mankading ‘will no longer be unfair.

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Also, did you know that the term ‘mankad’ was coined after an Indian bowler?

It was in 1948 when the dismissal first came to be known. Indian Legend Vinoo Mankad ran out Australian wicketkeeper Bill Brown at the non-striker’s end after confirming him for Backing up too far.

The Australian media dubbed it as ‘Mankading’, a name that stuck in popular parlance but was vehemently opposed by legends like Sunil Gavaskar for being “disrespectful” towards Mankad.

With inputs from PTI