I Have Told Ravichandran Ashwin To Not 'Mankad' In IPL 2020: Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting, former Australian skipper and the current head coach of the Delhi Capitals, has revealed that he has told ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin that he would not like him to ‘Mankad’ the non-striker in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League.

The ‘Mankade’ debate has raged on ever since Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Jos Buttler in the last season of the IPL. Ponting, in the lead-up to the tournament, had made it pretty clear that he will not allow Ashwin to do the same while playing for the Delhi Capitals, post which the duo even had a conversation around the same when they met in the UAE. After the meeting, Ponting had claimed that he and Ashwin had come to a common ground regarding the issue.

That said, in a recent chat with InsideSport’s ”Armstrad Face 2 Face Cricket Series’ show, Ricky Ponting was asked if he will allow Ashwin to mankade the batsman if it was the last ball of the IPL final. To which, Ponting said that he will not give the ball to Ashwin in the last over of the game.

 “I am not going to ball Ashwin in the last over of the game. We have spoken about it and I have told him my expectation that I wouldn’t want him to Mankad.” Ponting said.

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‘It is one law I am not happy with’- Ricky Ponting on the ‘Mankad’ Law

Ricky Ponting further added that even though running the non-striker out is well within the laws of the game, he doesn’t agree with it besides urging that the umpires should focus more on ensuring that the batsman is not cheating by backing up too far out of his crease.

“Although the Mankad is a very simple playing law in the game. It is one law I am not happy with and I am a part of the rules and law committee with the MCC. What we have to do is to stop batsmen from cheating which they tend to do in the death overs of the game,” Ricky Ponting said.

“Umpires need to be a little cautious as well and need to get a signal in the ear from the third umpire to let the batsman know not to be cheating,” he added.

Delhi Capitals will kickstart their campaign against Ravichandran Ashwin’s former franchise, Kings XI Punjab on Sunday.