Days after issuing his ‘first and last’ warning to all batsman over Mankading, Delhi Capitals spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Wednesday said that DC head coach Ricky Ponting is in support of the idea idea of penalizing the batting side for backing up too far on non-striker’s end. Ashwin added that Ponting is in touch with International Cricket Council to frame rules in this regard.
Ashwin left everyone surprised by not ‘Mankading’ Australian batsman Aaron Finch during DC’s match against Royal Challengers Bangalore in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 clash few days ago. It may be recalled that Ashwin stirred a row by Mankading Jos Buttler in IPL 2019.
Speaking on his YouTube show Hello Dubaiahh, Ashwin said that he was sure that some batsman would back up because it was not easy to score runs on that pitch. Ashwin said that 10 runs should be deducted if a batsman backs up too far at the non-striker’s end.
“I will say this. Can’t stop thefts till thieves repent. I cannot be police forever. I tagged Ponting in the tweet. He said he would have asked me to run him out. He said ‘a wrong is a wrong’. He’s talking to the ICC committee about a penalty. He is really trying hard to keep his promise,” Ashwin noted.
Before the start of the IPL 2020, Ponting had said that Mankading was “not within the spirit of the game”. The former Australian skipper also said he will have a “hard conversation” with Ashwin on this matter