On Tuesday, the MCC announced a set of changes to their laws, with a significant change to the Mankad law. Earlier, the run-out of the non-striker by the bowler was enlisted in the ‘Unfair Play’ section of the laws. Despite the dismissal’s legitimacy having been etched into the laws of the game, bowlers affecting the Mankad have often been criticised for not playing within the ‘spirit of the game.’

The MCC has now further normalised the Mankad, moving it to the ‘Run-out’ section of the laws, with Fraser Stewart, the MCC Laws Manager telling the Times: “The bowler is always painted as the villain but it is a legitimate way to dismiss someone and it is the non-striker who is stealing the ground. It is legitimate, it is a run-out and therefore it should live in the run-out section of the laws.”

The legitimisation, however, left England quick Broad unimpressed, who not only questioned the fairness of the Mankad but also stated that no skills are required to run out a non-striker. He also added that the reason it received plenty of criticism was that it was not a fair way of sending back a batter.

So the Mankad is no longer unfair & is now a legitimate dismissal.

Hasn’t it always been a legitimate dismissal & whether it is unfair is subjective?

I think it is unfair & wouldn’t consider it, as IMO, dismissing a batter is about skill & the Mankad requires zero skill. https://t.co/TuVLuHNDLn

— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) March 9, 2022

“So the Mankad is no longer unfair & is now a legitimate dismissal. Hasn’t it always been a legitimate dismissal & whether it is unfair is subjective? I think it is unfair & wouldn’t consider it, as IMO, dismissing a batter is about skill & the Mankad requires zero skill,” he tweeted.

Imo run out is a skill. Hearing someone run, sprinting full pace to pick up the ball & deciding which end to throw it in a split second & aiming your throw close to the stumps to run out

— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) March 9, 2022

Broad had also spoken against the dismissal in 2014 after non-striker Jos Buttler had been run out by Sri Lanka’s Sachithra Senanayake in Edgbaston, writing in his column in the Daily Mail that there was no “logic behind that [Mankad] being a mode of dismissal.”

“I’ve never played a game at any level, including schools cricket, where I’ve seen a batsman run out at the non-striker’s end. That’s why I think it is completely wrong and anyone who compares it to not walking is being naive.

“I think the major problem is it shouldn’t even be in the players’ hands. This goes above pointing at players or captains. Leave it up to the umpires. It shouldn’t be an option to have a dismissal like that because at the end of the day if you’re a supporter you’ve not seen a ball bowled, you’ve not seen a shot played but you’ve lost a world-class batsman.

“I can’t see any logic behind that being a mode of dismissal. It seems a really strange rule that someone can be run out like that because you’re getting no entertainment from it as a fan.”