Controversy erupted in IPL 2023 last week when Royal Challengers Bangalore's Harshal Patel attempted a run Ravi Bishnoi out at the non-striker's end during the final over of the run-chase against Lucknow Super Giants. Harshal couldn't dislodge the bail but had he succeeded in doing so, RCB would've tied the game and forced a Super Over. A run out at the non-striker's end is still considered a rather controversial form of dismissal, even after it was legitimized by the Marylebone Cricket Club.
A day after the game between RCB and LSG, Ben Stokes, the current English Test captain, opined that a six-run penalty should be imposed if a batter is caught backing up. Morgan does agree with scrapping the dismissal away, but says it should be a five-run penalty. “Umpires discretion.. 6 penalty runs if obviously trying to gain unfair advantage by leaving crease early? Would stop batters doing it without all the controversy,” Stokes wrote on his official Twitter profile.
Former England and Kolkata Knight Riders captain Eoin Morgan has now reacted to Stokes' suggestion in a media interaction; while he agreed in principle with the English all-rounder, Morgan stated that it should be a five-run penalty instead of six.
{{/usCountry}}Former England and Kolkata Knight Riders captain Eoin Morgan has now reacted to Stokes' suggestion in a media interaction; while he agreed in principle with the English all-rounder, Morgan stated that it should be a five-run penalty instead of six.
{{/usCountry}}“I agree in principle. I don't think it should be a wicket. A wicket has too much impact in the game. I think six is too many, 5 is the answer. If you need one to win, it's a prime example of somebody leaving the crease early, then they need 6 to win. If they needed more than 1 to win, the game is dead until the bowler bowls a no ball or a wide,” Morgan, who is an expert for Jio Cinema for the IPL, told Hindustan Times.
Earlier, the former KKR captain had stated that it would've been a “pitch invasion” had Harshal succeeded in running Bishnoi out.
“Not for one moment, do I think it was a conscious effort. Harshal Patel was running in and must have been in shock to see how far away he (Bishnoi was) and missed the run-out,” Morgan said on Jio Cinema.
“But if he had run him out, there would have been a pitch invasion. It would have been Kohli-Gambhir gloves off.”