Mankading : Against the SPIRIT OF THE GAME or a Sheer PRESENCE OF MIND

The MCC rule:

The MCC (Law 42.15) states that "The bowler is permitted, before entering his delivery stride, to attempt to run out the non-striker. Whether the attempt is successful or not, the ball shall not count as one of the over. If the bowler fails in an attempt to run out the non-striker, the umpire shall call and signal Dead ball as soon as possible.

The ICC rule:

The bowler is permitted, before releasing the ball and provided he has not completed his usual delivery swing, to attempt to run out the non-striker. Whether the attempt is successful or not, the ball shall not count as one of the over. if the bowler fails in an attempt to run out the non-striker, the umpire shall call and signal dead ball as soon possible.

This would probably be the most controversial segment of cricket laws that could have ever existed. Mankading is a practice that runs back to 1947 when it was first used in the second test match at Sydney. At this instance Indian bowler Vindoo Mankad(the form of run out is named after him since he was the first one to do it) ran out non striker Bill Brown even before delivering the bowl. However it was termed as against the spirit of the game by the Australian Media as well but he was very well supported by the then Australian Captain and legendary batsman Sir Donald Bradman.

There have been ten such instances of mankading in the history of cricket and the latest one is as recent as yesterday(19th February 2016).

The first instance has been described above.

The second such instance was in 1969 when Australian batsman Ian Redpath was mankaded by West Indian bowler Charlie Griffith in the fourth test match at Adelaide. The match ended in a tame draw but not before Australia had fallen to 339/9 while chasing 370.

The third instance was in the high voltage clash between traditional rivals England and Australia. Debutant Brian Luckhurst was run out by Greg Chapell on new years eve in 1975. Despite this the englishmen won the match by 3 wickets

The fourth instance was at Christchurch in the second test when Kiwi batsman Derek Randall's run out caused a furore to as he was Mankaded by Englishman Ewen Chatfield. 

The fifth instance occurred during the the 2nd Test between Australia and Pakistan at the WACA when Alan Hurst had run out tailender Sikander Bakht. Australia went on to win the game by seven wickets.

The sixth instance was in the 1992-1993 series between Zimbabwe and New Zealand. Zimbabwean opener Grant Flower was mankaded by Kiwi bowler Dipak Patel but this did not happen before he scored a fluent fifty. However the kiwis won the match by 4 wickets.

The seventh instance was when the South African Cricket team had returned to International Cricket after 23 years of exile. They were playing the Indians at the Port Elizabeth in the 2nd ODI. Legendary Indian all-rounder Kapil Dev had warned SA batsman Peter Kirsten in the first ODI and again he observed Peter standing a few steps outside the crease and rest as we know is history. It created a lot of animosity between the two sides but later, Peter did admit that he was warned by Kapil in the previous match as well.

The eight incident occurred in a Sri Lanka vs England clash at Birmingham in the final ODI in 2014 which turned out to be the series decider as well. England wicket-keeper Jos Buttler was Mankaded by Sachithra Senanayake and the Sri Lankan team was booed off the field by the english crowd as well.

The ninth such instance occurred in the U19 World Cup 2016 held in bangladesh. It was a decider match between West Indies(the eventual winners of the tournament) and Zimbabwe. The match was a decider for the final spot of the quater finals of the tournament. Keemo Paul effected a mankad to claim the last Zimbabwe Under-19 wicket - that of Richard Nagarava with three runs needed of the final over of the game. 

The tenth and the latest instance took place in the Asia Cup 2016 qualifiers between Oman and Hong Kong. Oman off spinner Aamir Kaleem mankaded Hong Kong batsman Mark Champan. The match turned out to be a close encounter as Hong Kong lost the match by just 5 runs and it might be possible that the mankad dismissal played a part in the loss. 

These were the various instances in International Cricket when the batsman was dismissed in this fashion. 

It has been termed by many persons as one of the most cowardly and unethical ways to get a wicket and something that is against the spirit of the game. However I feel otherwise. I think that to effect such a dismissal one has to be present minded and have quick stimuli to respond to such a situation. Also to those who feel it is against the "Spirit of the Game" I would like to ask them what according to them should be the spirit of the game be defined as. According to me two teams play a game of cricket with the intention to win the game. And something that would go against the spirit would be on field fights(non verbal ones), sledging(that gets too personal), match fixing, corruption etc. Just like one needs to be present in the game at all times to take stunning catches and effect superhuman runouts (like the one Jhonty Rhodes had effected) one has to have an alert brain to effect a mankad run out. At the end of the day the batting team plays to score as many runs as possible for them and the fielding team plays to take as many wickets as possible and dismiss the opposition for as low a total as possible. Therefore the Mankading dismissal is just another way of getting a wicket out of nowhere. Having said that I also believe that the batsman should be given a chance in the form of a warning before being dismissed by such means.

A wicket could change the entire course of the game on its head and could bear devastating results(like it did for Zimbabwe) but its all a part and parcel of the game I feel.

Analysing India's squad ahead of the ICC World T20

Being the hosts of the ICC WORLD T20 2016 Team India have been touted as favourites to win the tournament by most of the cricket pundits and I feel no different. They have a great team set up and the return of seasoned campaigners like Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra. Given the knowledge of their home conditions and the presence of high quality spinners like Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja the team surely are front runners to win the ICC mega event.

India's squad for the WORLD T20:- Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Mohammed Shami, Pawan Negi, Ajinkya Rahane

Taking a look at the probable XI of the team that is expected to be pretty similar throughout the tournament:- 

1. Shikhar Dhawan :- With Shikhar showing glimpses of returning back in form just in time for the world cup it is most likely that he will keep his openers slot for atleast for the opening few games based on his performances in the recently concluded T20 series against Australia and Sri Lanka. He is most likely to retain his spot for the most of group stage matches.

2. Rohit Sharma :- He has been touted as one of the best batsmen for team India in the limited overs format. He is most likely to keep his opening spot with the fact that you should play your best batman for the longest possible time in a game. Also his ability to accelerate as and when required is a bonus that any team would pay millions to have.

3. Virat Kohli :- Probably India's best batsman across all formats of the game. He has developed himself both as a matured player and an individual and has grown manifold ever since his debut. He has gone a long way in becoming the teams best batsman and he would definitely be rejuvenated with the break that he has got and would surely be raring to go.

4. Suresh Raina :- He is expected to come in at number 4 instead of his most preferred position (no. 3) to accommodate Virat Kohli at his favourite position. However at this position Suresh Raina played a wonderful knock in the final T20 match of the series Down Under. He is expected to make the playing XI ahead of Ajinkya Rahane due to his abilities to attack from the word go. Also his ability to bowl decent off breaks and break partnerships at crucial junctures of the game might come handy for the captain when other bowlers are being carted away to the boundaries.

5. Yuvraj Singh :- Yuvraj's comeback into the T20 squad has brought freshness back into the team and the Indian Team seem to be rejuvenated to have their best man of the successful World T20 2007 and World Cup 2011 campaigns. He has shown glimpses of his own old self but is still to regain the same level of confidence that saw him hit six 6's and single handedly win India matches at the 2 successful world cup campaigns. He will be expected to assume the finishers role and also play the role of anchoring the innings in case there is a collapse like the one that occurred in the first T20 match against Sri Lanka. Also his handy left arm spin would provide the captain with additional bowling options as the 5th bowler.

6. Mahendra Singh Dhoni :- MS Dhoni has been one of the best captains of the team and has led the nation to glory not once not twice but thrice in three showcase events of the ICC(the 2007 World T20, the CWC 2011 and the Champions Trophy 2013). Also he is known to be lightning quick behind the stumps and has been the best finisher for the team over the last decade or so. This might be his last campaign in Indian clolurs he would obviously want to make the most of this opportunity and add another trophy to his cabinet. In the last two series against Australia and Sri Lanka he has been at his smartest best while leading the younger and new look team on the feild.

7. Hardik Pandya :- Hardik Pandya is expected to perform the role of a batting all-rounder for the team and he has the ability to slog from ball 1. His batting poweress is well complemented by his ability to bowl medium pace deliveries in the middle overs and also the fact that he is a wonderful fielder who is always on his toes. With the confidence he has displayed and the batting abilities he possesses he is surely to take up the role of the finisher (from MS Dhoni) in the near future.

8. Ravindra Jadeja :- Ravindra  Jadeja will be expected to perform more with the ball than with the bat. His experience is expected to pip Pawan Negi out of the squad. He is a complete package that one can expect from a bowling all rounder i.e. he gives 4 overs of assured economical bowling to the captain, is a very electric fielder in the field of play and can swing his arm to hit a few balls over the boundary ropes.

9. Ravichandran Ashwin :- Ravi Ashwin is a must play for any team in the subcontinental conditions. His variations that he has developed and the form that he has displayed over the last year or so have been phenomenal. He has been a changed bowler ever since he was dropped on the 2014 tour Down Under. He could bat well too and it was displayed recently in the first T20 against Sri Lanka where he ended as the teams highest run scorer in the match, on a green top where everybody else failed it was wonderful to see Ravi Ashwin score runs at a wonderful strike rate.

10. Jasprit Bumrah :- He has been the latest sensational inclusion to the team and he surely has proved himself enough in the two series he has played against Australia and Sri Lanka. His slingy action kept the batsmen on their toes and guessing the lines and lengths that he was going to bowl. The fact that he has the ability to bowl back to back yorkers consistently in the death, he would be an asset to any team in the world. One can say that he played against a second string Lankan team but his performances in the series Down Under against a full strength squad and one of the best teams in the world speaks volumes about his capablities.

11. Ashish Nehra :- Ashish Nehra recently made a comeback in to the T20 squad after a gap of 5 long years on the back of a successful stint in the IPL and a decent run in the domestic tournaments as well. His performances down under have been wonderful and he was similarly good in the series against Sri Lanka. Also his left arm action will provide variation to the bowling stocks of Team INDIA.


Mohammed Shami has not been included in the playing XI due to the fact that he has still to prove his fitness for the World T20 and he will still be expected to warm benches if he gets fit just in time for the World T20 due to lack of match practice. However if Shami makes a return in the Asia Cup scheduled to be played in a weeks time and he performs well he will most probably replace Ashish Nehra considering that Bumrah can be used at the death more than Nehra can given his ability to bowl consistent yorkers.

Ajinkya Rahane is also expected to warm benches unless either of Shikhar Dhawan or Rohit Sharma drop out in terms of match fitness. And also he might replace Shikhar Dhawan if Dhawan fails to replicate the form he's displayed over the last 5-6 matches he has played. He can obviously not fit into the middle order given the fact that he takes his time to get settled and then start scoring runs freely.

Harbhajan Singh is most likely to spend the entire tournament on the benches despite a wonderful display in the limited overs domestic tournaments due to the presence of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, any injury to either of the two might open the gates for his selection ahead of Pawan Negi but it is mostly unlikely to happen. His experience may prove to be useful for the team and youngsters like Pawan Negi and Hardik Pandya should grab the opportunity with open hands.

Pawan Negi the most expensive Indian buy at the VIVO IPL's auction. He is mostly unlikely to play unless there occurs any injury to any of the spinners or Hardik Pandya or else the captain needs an additional spinner in a squad that aldready has 2 world class spinners(Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja) and 2 part time spinners(Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina).

All in all India has one of the best squads for the Tournament and should be the team to beat throughout this tournament. I wish the team best of luck and may they win the prized TROPHY.