Srinagar: Mankading is legal in Cricket rules, but debate about it being morally right or wrong never settles and on Thursday, Pakistan young pacer Zaman Khan’s refusal to do it during crunch situation against Sri Lanka has reignited the debate with fans divided.
As per Cricket laws, there is nothing wrong in Mankading, but some teams have gone with the rule while some have refused to do it highlighting the divinity and moral ground behind it.
On Thursday, Zaman Khan was in perfect position to inflict Mankad runout against Sri Lanka but opted to not do it.
Fans from both the Countries, India and Pakistan got involved in a debate on social media over the issue on social media.
A picture of pacer Zaman Khan, went viral with the bowler is seen in action moment before releasing the ball and the non-striker is seen inches outside the crease. The missed opportunity for Pakistan thereafter sparked a hug debate on social media among India and Pakistan fans.
Zaman let go of the opportunity and later Asalanka smashed a four off the penultimate ball and managed two runs in the last ball to guide Sri Lanka to the Asia Cup final
The picture is from the final two balls of the Super Four match where Sri Lanka’s Matheesha Pathirana was at the non-striker’s end having walked in as the new batter after Pramod Madushan sacrificed his wicket to get Charith Asalanka on strike.
In the picture, Pathirana can clearly be seen standing inches outside the crease at the moment when Zaman is about to release the ball. Had he gained advantage of at least one of the balls, Sri Lanka would have been left with six to win from one ball.
But Zaman let go of the opportunity instead and later Asalanka smashed a four off the penultimate ball and managed two runs in the last ball to guide Sri Lanka to the Asia Cup final while Pakistan were knocked out.
Doon after the match, noted commentator Harsha Bhogle also highlighted the same and posted whether Zaman Khan should have gone for the run out or not.
Law 38.3 of the MCC, which pertains to the “Non-striker leaving his/her ground early, clearly states that, “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 if he/she is out of his/her ground.”
Later in 2022, the Lord’s-based MCC, the sole authority on the laws of cricket, moved the law from Law 41 (Unfair Play) to Law 38 (Runout).
Yet, the debate that sparked between India and Pakistan fans over Zaman’s missed opportunity centered around words like “grace” and “dignity”.