IPL 2019: Mankading - Rules of the game Vs Spirit of the game

What's the Story?

Ravichandran Ashwin sparked a debate among cricketing fraternity as he Mankaded Jos Buttler in Match-4 of IPL 2019. Both Ashwin and Buttler have been involved in similar incidents on separate occasions, but this proved to be even more controversial as the wicket changed the course of the match.

What exactly happened?

On the backdrop of Chris Gayle's 79 and Sarfaraz Khan's 46, Kings XI Punjab posted 184 on the board. Chasing a stiff target, Rajasthan Royals were in the chase for the most part of the game as he smashed the bowlers all over the park.

The Mankading incident has surely ignited a huge debate among cricketing fraternity. Although it appears ugly, it seems it is well within the rules. Thoughts? #VIVOIPL #AshwinMankads #RRvKXIP #GameBanayegaName pic.twitter.com/w03YnZehxh

— Siddharth Arjun (@sidarjun7188) March 26, 2019

Ashwin was bowling well with an economy rate of under 6. As he was about to bowl the last ball of his spell, he stopped in his delivery stride and hit the stumps in the non-striker's end only to find Buttler out of the crease. Punjab appealed for the wicket and the third umpire ruled in their favor.

The debate: Rules of the game or Spirit of the game:

Rule 41.16 of MCC rules state the following "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."

So, Ashwin's action was well within the rules of the game. What has to be seen is whether Ashwin waited for Buttler to leave the crease before disturbing the stumps. If that is the case, then Ashwin would have completed his action had he not waited for those few seconds. Then, Buttler's move would have become legal.

Talking about the Spirit of the game, many were of the view that even if it is within the rules the batsman should have been warned before the actual attempt.

With the game already favoring the batsman, is it fair to ask a bowler to notify the batsman? The batsman doesn't notify the bowler when he is playing a switch-hit or a reverse sweep. But the bowler has to notify the angle and if he is ambidextrous then he has to mention the bowling hand as well.

The rule clearly states that the batsman cannot leave the crease before the bowler completes his delivery stride. Hence Mankading is just another form of dismissal in Cricket which complies with the rules and spirit of the game. But in this incident, it is debatable as the pause of the bowler has raised few eyebrows.

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