Ravichandran Ashwin whipped up a storm in 2019 IPL after the then Kings XI Punjab skipper ran out Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler in his bowling stride after the non-striker left the crease too early. Those who criticised the India spinner for not sticking to the spirit of cricket included stalwarts Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Kevin Pietersen and Buttler’s England skipper Eoin Morgan.
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), maker of cricket’s laws, has now given its verdict. It has normalised such run outs, even moving the mode of dismissal from law 41.16 governing unfair play to 38.3, which pertains to run out. This is part of rule changes (see box) that will be ratified by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The MCC committee has also decided that from now on the new batter will be on strike even if the players had crossed over when a catch is taken. The rule, trialled in The Hundred, is to reward the bowler who would otherwise be bowling at a set batter. The ban on using saliva to shine the ball, introduced when playing resumed amid the Covid pandemic, will remain. MCC’s research has suggested saliva use has little effect on swing. It also removes the ambiguity around the use of mints to change the condition of the ball, which is already not allowed.
MCC had in 2019 initially backed Ashwin but reversed its stand 24 hours later with its manager of the Laws, Fraser Stewart, quoted in the British media as saying: “We believe the pause was too long between the time Ashwin reached the crease and the moment it was reasonable to expect the ball would be delivered. When Buttler could have reasonably expected the ball to be delivered, he was in his ground.”
{{/usCountry}}MCC had in 2019 initially backed Ashwin but reversed its stand 24 hours later with its manager of the Laws, Fraser Stewart, quoted in the British media as saying: “We believe the pause was too long between the time Ashwin reached the crease and the moment it was reasonable to expect the ball would be delivered. When Buttler could have reasonably expected the ball to be delivered, he was in his ground.”
{{/usCountry}}MCC’s first statement in 2019 had said: “It has never been in the Laws that a warning should be given to the non-striker and nor is it against the Spirit of Cricket to run out a non-striker who is seeking to gain an advantage by leaving his/her ground early.”
On Wednesday, Virender Sehwag congratulated Ashwin with a cheeky tweet. “Ab full freedom to plot such run-outs with Buttler. Ek karna zaroor,” he posted. Ashwin is seen as the driving force behind the re-categorisation of the rule. Indian spinners have been consistent on the issue though there is still no widespread approval for the dismissal. The law though says, “If the non-striker is out of his/her ground 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.”
When Ashwin switched to Delhi Capitals, head coach Ponting said he would have a hard conversation with him. They had a compromise and Ponting saw merit in Ashwin’s argument, though he wanted a run-penalty rather than legitimising the run out. Ashwin even stopped with warning RCB’s Aaron Finch, as the camera panned on a smiling Ponting.
Ashwin gradually won over some of his critics, including KP, who backed the bowler in a TalkSport programme. “Seeing how far down the wicket Finch was, almost stealing two metres before Ashwin bowled… watching Ashwin do it 12 months ago I would have said, ‘come on mate, no no no’ but having thought it over, (I think) it was absolutely perfect what he did.”
Ashwin has fought a lone battle on the issue. In 2012, during a tri-series in Australia, after he ran out Sri Lanka’s Lahiru Thirimanne, the non-striker, for backing too far, India withdrew the appeal. Sehwag, the stand-in-captain, initially celebrated the dismissal with the bowler, but seemed to have been persuaded by Sachin Tendulkar to not claim the run out.
Ashwin is hardly the first to use the method.
India left-arm spinner Murali Kartik did it in a County game and faced a backlash. Speaking to Ashwin on his YouTube channel, Kartik said his wife had to leave the ground after he ran out Somerset’s Alex Barrow while playing for Surrey in 2012. “It was that kind of a threat with the crowd booing and all. They almost entered the dressing room,” he said. After the match, Surrey skipper Gareth Batty regretted he backed the appeal “against the spirit of the game”.
The most famous instance though involves Indian all-rounder Vinoo Mankad, who ran out Australia’s Bill Brown at the non-striker's end on India’s 1947-48 tour of that country. Mankad’s action was called “unsportsmanlike” and the mode of dismissal lazily dubbed ‘Mankading’.
Sunil Gavaskar has been critical of the term, saying it is the batter who is at fault. “Hopefully nobody will call and malign an Indian legend’s name anymore and simply call it a run out,” Gavaskar said when asked about the rule tweak. He has long insisted that Mankad’s name should not be tarnished as it was Brown’s fault.
In 1992, Kapil Dev was criticised after he ran out South Africa’s Peter Kirsten in an ODI in Port Elizabeth, having warned him in previously in the series. “I suppose I was naive at the time. We were newly reintroduced to international cricket,” Kirsten said. “If they have placed it under the run out law now, it is what it is. Fine, times have changed. The batter now knows of the risk.”
In the coming IPL, Ashwin and Buttler will be Rajasthan Royals teammates. They released curated comments for RR’s digital handles. “Looking forward to sharing the dressing room with Jos. How good is that going to be,” said Ashwin. “Hey Ash’ Jos here. Don’t worry, I am inside the crease,” replied Buttler.