Former India player Ravichandran Ashwin has once again reiterated his stance on the controversial ‘Mankading’ method of dismissing a batsman. Over the years, Ashwin has made no apologies for his stance in favor of a bowler executing this method of dismissal.

The act of ‘Mankading’ refers to a bowler running out a batsman on the non-striker’s end while the latter is outside his crease even before delivering the ball.

What is ‘Mankading’?

It is named after former Indian all-rounder Vinoo Mankad, who was the first player to execute this dismissal in a Test match. Mankad had finished off the Australian Bill Brown in this way in 1948.

Since then, the ‘Mankad’ has always generated controversy. Many believe that it is a completely underhanded way of taking a wicket, while others believe that a bowler must warn the batsman several times before dismissing him in this manner.

Defenders of dismissal believe that the only one acting underhandedly in this scenario is the non-striker who is trying to steal a run. In October 2022, the MCC, which is the custodian of the Laws of Cricket, moved this law from the “Unfair Play” section of the Laws to a regular expiry.

The last major controversy regarding Mankad came in September 2022, when India’s Deepti Sharma outplayed England’s Charlie Dean in an ODI at Lord’s to seal a 3-0 series win for the visitors.

If the ICC felt this was an honesty issue, they wouldn’t keep it in the rules – Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin recently spoke to JioHotstar about the departure in the non-striker side and his own controversy regarding it. During the 2019 IPL, Ashwin captained Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) and had finished off Jos Buttler of Rajasthan Royals in this manner. It generated a lot of controversy on social networks.

Interestingly, it was not the first time Ashwin or Buttler were involved in a ‘Mankading’ incident. In an ODI in 2014, Sri Lanka’s Sachitra Senanayake finished off Buttler at the non-striker’s end. In 2012, Ashwin removed Sri Lanka’s Lahiru Thirimanne in an ODI, but India captain Virender Sehwag withdrew the appeal.

Talking about the dismissal, Ashwin said: “A lot of people talk about character, they say this is wrong or the player is wrong. After hearing all that, I felt like doing it even more. There was a time when I was captain against Mumbai, and we needed two runs. I was in extra cover and I told the bowler to get him out from the non-striker’s side. The batsman ran, but the bowler refused because people say it is wrong. If the ICC felt this was an honesty issue, they would not keep him in. the rules.”

Ravichandran Ashwin went on to talk about the specific incident with Jos Buttler. He said: “People say Jos Buttler didn’t try to run, but that’s not my problem. People also say I did it to win. Of course, I did it to win.”

“What’s there to be ashamed of? After I chased him away, I called the team and said, ‘This is going to look different for them, they’re going to lose, don’t worry about the reaction. I’ll handle the media, we just have to win.’ And we won. So there’s no character issue in this.”

What’s next for Ravichandran Ashwin?

Ravichandran Ashwin had earlier gained popularity on social media through his YouTube channel. After his international retirement in 2024 and IPL retirement in 2025, he has been a favorite of the media and commentators in general. His sharp ideas have been a fan favorite in IPL 2026.

Following his retirement from Indian cricket, Ravichandran Ashwin had planned to play in leagues outside India and will play for the San Francisco Unicrons in the MLC 2026.

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