R Ashwin was on the receiving end of things on Sunday (July 28) when with bat in hand, he was given a 'Mankad' warning in the TNPL. He took to social media to defend himself on Monday, but the off-spinner may have misread the rules.
During a Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) match between Dindigul Dragons and Nellai Royal Kings, Ashwin was at the crease when left-arm spinner Mohan Prasath came on to bowl the 15th over.
With Shivam Singh on strike, and Ashwin at the non-striker's end, the bowler pulled out of his delivery stride, causing Ashwin to hurriedly make sure that his bat was in the crease and he was therefore safe from a run-out by the bowler at the non-striker's end (also commonly referred as a 'Mankad').
As Prasath made his way back to his bowling mark to restart his run-up, he appeared to convey to the umpire that he wished to warn Ashwin about leaving the crease early.
On Monday, Ashwin took to X (formerly Twitter) to defend himself.
Why Ashwin is wrong about the laws around the 'Mankad'
One user on the social media platform questioned why the television commentators during the incident did not point out the fact that at the time of Prasath's delivery stride, Ashwin was in the crease and therefore would not have been out even if the stumps had been broken.
Ashwin replied to this with a screenshot of Law 38.3 of the MCC's Laws of Cricket, pertaining to the non-striker leaving their ground early. He accompanied it with the caption, "Cos they don't know the rule".
Cos they don’t know the rule😂 pic.twitter.com/r1B6Ndyyue
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) July 29, 2024
The law cited by Ashwin (specifically, Law 38.3.1) does state what he has highlighted in the screenshot, namely, "At any time from the moment the ball comes into play until the instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball, the non-striker is liable to be run out..."
However, this is only a portion of the law. A subsection of the law (38.3.1.1) clearly lays out at which point the bowler is normally expected to release the ball, which is "the highest point of their normal bowling action in the delivery swing."
This clarification had been introduced in January 2023, after Australian spinner Adam Zampa attempted a 'Mankad' in a Big Bash League game, after going past the 'vertical', or the highest point in his delivery swing.
Seemingly, Ashwin might have taken the law to mean that if he remained in the crease until the bowler entered his delivery stride, a run out could not be effected after that. But in fact, he had to stay in the crease until Prasath reached the highest point of his delivery swing, in order to avoid the possibility of being run out.
Prasath had pulled out of the ball before he even began his delivery swing, and television replays showed that Ashwin's bat did slide out of the crease for a brief moment as Prasath came to a halt. If the bowler had broken the stumps at that point and appealed, the umpire would have had no choice but to rule Ashwin out, as he had left the crease before the bowler reached the highest point of his action.
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