'Batting side should be penalised to stop menace' - Kapil Dev not in favour of 'Mankading'

Following up on the recent incident involving Royal Challengers Bangalore opener Aaron Finch and Delhi Capitals spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the ongoing IPL 2020, 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev has given his stance on the 'Mankading' saga.

Kapil Dev mentioned that although he isn’t exactly in favour of ‘Mankading’ the batsman out, he feels that the non-striker leaving the batting crease before the ball is delivered is a form of cheating. And hence, the former India all-rounder reckons that there should be a law to penalize the batting team.

“Both ICC and BCCI should make a rule that if the non-striking batsman leaves the bowling crease early, it will be counted as one run short. Just imagine if you leave the team needing one run to win a game off the last ball and if the non-striker leaves the crease before the bowler delivers the ball, it is nothing but cheating. It is time that the world governing body takes a good look at it and makes it mandatory to stop this Mankading,” Kapil Dev exclusively told Sportskeeda on Thursday.

Kapil Dev further suggested that the third umpire should be roped in to alert the on-field umpires if the non-strike batsman leaves the bowling crease early, similar to the case when the TV umpire calls the front foot no-balls.

“If the on-field umpire misses a no-ball call, the third umpire is doing the job to have 100% accuracy in terms of decision making. A siren is used to alert the on-field umpires and why can’t we do the same with those non-striking batsman who are always in a rush for runs? I want to see how many batsmen will cross the line if a one-run short rule is made," he added.

Kapil Dev's tryst with 'Mankading' during his playing days

The 61-year-old also suggested a 'one-short' rule as a new measure that can be introduced to ensure that batsmen do not leave their crease early. He also referred to an incident back in South Africa during his playing days to put forth the need to maintain ethics on the cricket field.

“If a batsman is leaving the crease early, a one-run short rule is a must to stop this menace. I am personally not in favour of mankading and had warned batsman in South Africa for leaving the bowling crease early. If someone is mandaking, I can understand the ethics of the bowlers, where is the ethics of the batsmen?” he asked.

“When we call that cricket is a gentleman's game and such unethical stuff is happening, it should be applicable for both bowlers and batsman. The stakes are so high today in cricket and to make it a fair and square thing, you have to make it a level playing field,” Kapil Dev suggested.

Kapil Dev himself was involved in mankading during India’s tour of South Africa back in 1992-93, when he sent back Peter Kirsten after issuing three warnings to the batsman.

“I was not happy with what happened in South Africa. But today the stakes are going to be so high and some batsmen keep leaving the bowling crease early and taking advantage, how can the bowlers - Ashwin or me - be held responsible for mankading? This isn’t right if only the bowlers are penalized. If I am the captain and the opponent is stealing the run like this, I will certainly not ignore it,” Kapil Dev said.

The Indian cricket legend signed off by saying that there have already been numerous instances of 'Mankading' being overlooked, and if there aren't modifications made to the rules soon, it could have a telling impact in the future.