Stuart Broad Reacts To MCC Rule Change On 'Mankading', Says He Would Never Consider Doing It Anyway

England fast bowler Stuart Broad responded to the rule change regarding the infamous ‘Mankad’ dismissal in cricket where a bowler can run a non-striker out if he backs up from the crease too far.

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) made a few changes in the rule book, including moving Mankading from the ‘Unfair play’ category to the ‘run-out’ category. Reacting to the same, Broad expressed his viewpoint against it.

“So the Mankad is no longer unfair & is now a legitimate dismissal. Hasn’t it always been a legitimate dismissal & whether it is unfair is subjective? I think it is unfair & wouldn’t consider it, as IMO, dismissing a batter is about skill & the Mankad requires zero skill,” Broad mentioned on his Twitter account.

The mode of dismissal has been in effect since 1947 when Vinoo Mankad ran out Australian cricketer, Bill Brown. In recent times, it has been used by Ravichandran Ashwin against Jos Buttler in a match between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Rajasthan Royals (RR).

The rule change that Stuart Broad responded to

Broad’s comments come amid the MCC’s statement regarding the unfair aspect of the Mankad dismissal. It shed light on how the bowlers are looked down upon if that mode of run-out is effected.

“Law 41.16 — running out the non-striker — has been moved from Law 41 (Unfair play) to Law 38 (Run out). The wording of the law remains the same. The bowler is always painted as the villain but it is a legitimate way to dismiss someone and it is the non-striker who is stealing the ground. It is legitimate, it is a run-out and, therefore, it should live in the run-out section of the laws,” the statement read.

The MCC has permanently banned the use of saliva on the ball in order to maintain the shine. Additionally, the concept of crossing over has been removed during a caught dismissal.

If a batter is caught and in the duration, the two batters have crossed, the new batter walking in would be at the non-striker’s end. Now, that feature has been removed and in case of a caught dismissal, the new batter will always take strike.

Also Read – “Ab Full Freedom To Plot Such Run-outs With Buttler” – Virender Sehwag Takes A Dig At Ravichandran Ashwin After ‘Mankading’ Moved From ‘Unfair Play’ Section