R Ashwin Mankads Jos Buttler during IPL 2019
Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin had created quite a stir earlier this year during Indian Premier League 2019 when he had Mankad-ed England's Jos Buttler during the match between Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals. While cricket fraternity was left divided over the dismissal, Ashwin and MCC reckoned it was well within the rules of the sport. When asked if the dismissal will be repeated in the impeding IPL season as well, Ashwin came up with a positive response.
During a Q and A session on Twitter on Monday evening, a fan asked Ashwin, "Who are the potential batsmen you can Mankad this IPL?" And the off-spinner immediately replied saying, "Anyone that goes out of the crease".
Ashwin mankaded Buttler during the match after the English batsman got Rajasthan Royals with a flying start in their chase to 185 runs. The Kings eventually won the match by 14 runs as the Royals managed only 170 runs for the loss of nine wickets.
Defending his actions, Ashwin said after the match, “It was pretty instinctive. I actually didn’t even load. He left the crease, that’s it. That’s always been my take on it because that’s my half of the crease.”
Earlier in December, Ashwin was traded off to Delhi Capitals by Kings XI Punjab where he joined the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Jason Roy and Chris Woakes.
