Ravichandran Ashwin unapologetic on Jos Buttler ‘Mankad’ controversy, makes strong ICC claim

Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has once again reiterated his stance on the controversial 'Mankading' method of dismissing a batter. Over the years, Ashwin has been unapologetic about his stance of being in favour of a bowler executing this method of dismissal.

The act of 'Mankading' refers to a bowler running out a batter at the non-strikers' end while the latter is out of his/her crease even before the ball is bowled.

What is 'Mankading'?

It is named after former Indian all-rounder Vinoo Mankad, who was the first player to execute this dismissal in a Test match. Mankad had run out Australia's Bill Brown in this fashion in 1948.

Ever since then, the 'Mankad' has always created controversy. Many believe that it is a completely underhanded way to take a wicket, while others believe that a bowler ought to warn the batter a few times before dismissing him/her this way.

Proponents of the dismissal believe that the only one being underhanded in this scenario is the non-striker who is trying to steal a run. In October 2022, the MCC, who are the custodian of the Laws of Cricket, moved this act from the 'Unfair Play' section of the Laws to a regular run out.

The last major controversy regarding the Mankad came in September 2022 when India's Deepti Sharma ran out England's Charlie Dean in an ODI at Lord's to seal a 3-0 series win for the visitors.

If the ICC felt this was an honesty problem, they wouldn't keep it in the rules- Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin recently spoke to JioHotstar about the runout at the non-striker's end and his own controversy surrounding it. During the IPL in 2019, Ashwin was captain of Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) and had run out Rajasthan Royals' Jos Buttler in this manner. It created a lot of controversy on social media.

Interestingly, it wasn't the first time that either Ashwin or Buttler were involved in a 'Mankading' incident. In an ODI in 2014, Sri Lanka's Sachitra Senanayake ran out Buttler at the non-striker's end. In 2012, Ashwin ran out Sri Lanka's Lahiru Thirimanne in an ODI, but India's captain Virender Sehwag withdrew the appeal.

Talking about the dismissal, Ashwin said, "A lot of people talk about character, say this is wrong or that the player is wrong. After hearing all that, I felt like doing it even more. There was a moment when I was captain against Mumbai, and we needed two runs. I was at extra cover and told the bowler to run him out at the non-strikers' end. The batter ran, but the bowler refused because people say it's wrong. If the ICC felt this was an honesty problem, they wouldn't keep it in the rules."

Ravichandran Ashwin went on to speak about the specific incident with Jos Buttler. He said, "People say Jos Buttler didn't try to run, but that's not my problem. People also say I did it to win. Of course, I did it to win."

"What is there to be ashamed of? After I ran him out, I called the team and said 'This will look different to them, they will lose, don't worry about the reaction. I will handle the media, we just have to win.' And we won. So there is no issue of character in this."

What's next for Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin had gained social media popularity earlier through his YouTube channel. After his international retirement in 2024 and IPL retirement in 2025, he has been a darling of the media and the commentary box in general. His sharp insights have been a fan favourite in IPL 2026.

Following his retirement from Indian cricket, Ravichandran Ashwin had planned to play in leagues outside India and will feature for the San Francisco Unicrons in MLC 2026.

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