Call A Spade A Spade

Ashwin was well within his right to spot the non-striker out of his crease in the course of his run up...

- Sreelata S. Yellamrazu

For the better part of the last few days, the cricket world has been abuzz about the Kings XI Punjab captain’s decision to run out the batsman from the Rajasthan Royals through a tricky dismissal known as ‘Mankad’ing. However, one wonders how it is easy to call it a violation of the spirit of the game issue when the rules of the game are quite explicit.

Quite a stir has been created over an issue that has been quite clear as per the laws of the game. Jos Buttler, himself a repeat offender of walking out of his crease at the non-striker’s end, is once again making a hue and cry about an issue that he himself stated he was in the wrong in the past. He stated it himself in 2016, two years after he claimed indignation at being mankaded by Sri Lanka, calling it ‘a batsman error’. Along with the England wicketkeeper-batsman, much of the cricket world that is up in arms appear to have forgotten that there is a place for the spirit of the game and also, one for adhering to the laws.