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Stuart Broad says 'Mankad' requires 'zero skill' and will remain 'unfair', draws enormous backlash from fans on Twitter
England bowler Stuart Broad believes that 'Mankad' requires ‘zero skill’, drawing a huge backlash from fans on Twitter.
On Wednesday, the Marylebone Cricket Club announced a series of amendments and rule changes in cricket. While the body put a permanent ban on the use of saliva on the cricket ball, the ‘Mankad’ mode of dismissal – as it is more commonly known among fans – was also legitimized as a form of run-out. The dismissal is usually performed by the bowler to run a non-striker out on delivery stride, if the non-striker has crossed their crease.
The inclusion of the dismissal as a fair way of running out a better was welcomed by many fans and former cricketers alike, but England's Stuart Broad insisted that he will still not be using it to dismiss batters. On his official social media profile, Broad said that the dismissal is “unfair” and “requires zero skill.”
“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,” wrote Broad.
However, Broad's opinion met certain criticism from fans.
Earlier, Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar hailed the MCC decision to remove run-out at non-striker's end from unfair play laws. Several players like India's premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin have advocated for it as a fair mode of dismissal.
Tendulkar said he was always averse to the term used for this dismissal as "Mankaded".
"New rules have been introduced in cricket by MCC committee and I am quite supportive of couple of them. The first one being Mankading dismissal. I was always uncomfortable with that particular dismissal being called Mankaded," Tendulkar said in a video message.
"I am really happy that it's been changed to run out. It always should have been run out according to me. So this is one good news for all of us. I was not comfortable with it all, but that won't be the case anymore."
