Ravichandran Ashwin suggests ‘free ball’ as a substitute for ‘Mankading’

Amid all the debate surrounding ‘Mankading’, Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has proposed for a ‘free ball’ if the non-striker leaves the crease before the ball is delivered. He further added that the batting side must be deducted five runs if the ‘free ball’ fetches a wicket.

“Make it a free ball for the bowler. If the batsmen get out of that ball, the batting side 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’,”Ravichandran Ashwin tweeted.

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

This came after KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik gave his opinion regarding the same on the ‘CricketNext’ show. Karthik, who is Ashwin’s Tamil Nadu teammate, said:

“From Don Bradman to Sunil Gavaskar, everyone has said it’s completely within the rules. The ICC and MCC have also taken a stand that it is okay. I don’t see the reason why any team that does it is looked at in a negative way.”

Ricky Ponting will be asking Ravichandran Ashwin not to resort to 'Mankading'

The moment which sparked all the drama. Credits: ABC

After the drama surrounding Ashwin ‘Mankading’ Jos Buttler in last year’s IPL, discussions surrounding it have gained momentum once again. Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting said he will ask the off-spinner not to resort to ‘Mankading’ in the upcoming edition of the IPL starting September 19.

“As soon as it happened and he [Ashwin] did that, I actually sat our boys down and said, ‘Look, I know he’s done it, there’ll be others around the tournament who’ll think about doing this well but that’s not going to be the way that we play our cricket. We won’t be doing that,” Ponting said on the Grade Cricketer’s Podcast.

Ravichandran Ashwin will be plying his trade for the Delhi Capitals in the 2020 edition of the IPL, all set to begin on September 19 in the UAE.