Muttiah Muralitharan
One of the hot topics for discussion in the build-up to the 13th season of the Indian Premier League has been about Mankading. The debate sparked off last month after Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting made a comment about the type of dismissal before saying that he won't allow R Ashwin to run out non-strikers during his stint with the Capitals. Joining in the debate, former Sri Lankan cricketer and presently the bowling consultant for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Muttiah Muralitharan spoke much on the same lines as the former Australian captain.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Murali feels that five penalty runs should be added rather than allowing Mankading.
“If the bowler should not have the unfair advantage of running out the batsman, the latter too should not have the unfair advantage of proceeding too ahead in the pitch in order to take a run. I believe warnings should be given. Rather than giving the batsman out, five penalty runs should be added to the erring team if an umpire feels that the non-striker or the bowler is taking unfair advantage,” said Muralitharan.
Ashwin had Mankaded Jos Buttler in IPL 2019. With Ashwin now part of Delhi Capitals, Ponting admitted last month that he would have a "hard conversation" with the veteran bowler. Ponting feels that while non-strikers should not be allowed the unfair advantage, Mankading is not the option and that there should be way around it to stop batsmen from "stealing a yard".
"He (Ashwin) made me get on a podcast with him when I first arrived here to have a good open chat about it," Ponting told 'Cricket.com.au'.
"I think we're both on the same page. He feels he did everything in the rules and laws of the game and he's absolutely right," Ponting said.
In fact, Ponting found logic in Ashwin's rationale.
"He's saying, 'What if it's the last ball of the IPL, what if I'm bowling and the batting teams needs two runs to win and the non-striker is charging halfway down the wicket? What do you expect me to do'?
"There's an argument there as well, but as I said to him, I would expect that he would hold on to the ball and not Mankad and tell the batsman to stay in his crease next time and see if he's good enough to try and close the game out for us."
