It Is A form Of Dismissal And It Is Legal: Ashwin Once Again Backs Run Out At Non-striker’s End

The run-out dismissal at the non-striker's end was moved from unfair play to legitimate run-out earlier this year. However, Indian star spinner Ravi Ashwin has always backed the notion of dismissing the batter taking a head start before the ball was bowled.

Melbourne: The run-out dismissal at the non-striker’s end was moved from unfair play to legitimate run-out earlier this year. However, Indian star spinner Ravi Ashwin has always backed the notion of dismissing the batter taking a head start before the ball was bowled.

The Mankad matter heated up recently after Deepti Sharma dismissed the England batter, Charlie Dean, in bilateral contest. This started a whole ‘spirit of game’ debate among cricketers and cricket fans. Ravi Ashwin recently addressed the whole situation and players saying they won’t run out a batter in such situations.

Ashwin said “Honestly, I would also not like to get out like that. Just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean I cannot get out like that. Nobody likes getting out, I do not like being nicked off, bowled, LBW, run-out. Likewise, I would also not like to get run-out at the non-striker’s end.”

“It is a form of dismissal and it is legal. There are many arguments regarding that. Like with anything else in this world, people are going to have contradictory thoughts. Whether you want to do it or not, it is absolutely fine. It is good to know that some people won’t do it, because you can run at the last minute and wait. It is good, people are going to come and say they won’t do it, as a cricketer, I’ll use that to my advantage,” Ashwin added.

Ashwin then spoke about how they don’t underestimate Zimbabwe as an opponent. He said “We had quite some close games. Yeah, Bangladesh, Pakistan, all these games went down to the wire.”

“Look, I think in T20 cricket, to follow common cricket cliches, I hope it changes at some time. But I think even people watching the game, giving their expert opinions on the game are still learning the ropes, I would say, because the game is diverted by such small margins. Even sometimes I’ve spoken to experts and ex-cricketers. They themselves feel they are sometimes catching up with the pace of the game and how the game has evolved,” Ashwin added.