Rahul Mankad, the one surviving son of legendary all-rounder Vinoo Mankad, has lastly gained an extended battle. The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has moved to reframe the legislation on operating out the non-striker batsman whereas backing up, eradicating it from “unfair play” and shifting it to the “run out” section of cricketing rules.
This mode of dismissal is commonly referred to as Mankading. The term came into effect when Vinoo Mankad ran out Australia’s Bill Brown during India’s tour in 1947-48.
The change by MCC, the body which governs the rules associated with cricket, said a bowler running out a non-striker who is backing up too far will now be treated as a runout instead of the earlier unfair play. While the move may have vindicated several bowlers, who have used it to dismiss players, for Rahul it was personal.
Using the word ‘Mankaded’ when a bowler would run out a non-striker backing up unfairly, was always objectionable for Rahul Mankad. According to him, it was a gross misuse of his father’s name.
“My response is – about bloody time!!” Rahul informed Cricbuzz after studying about MCC’s decree. He shared that he was in a London Hospital as he suffered a coronary heart assault. “They had to put a stent in my heart,” he added.
Rahul highlighted that he had been writing to the MCC and also the International Cricket Council (ICC) urging them to rephrase the law. Notably, Rahul was also in support of the mode of dismissal. “The problem is that this mode of dismissal is now clouded with this spirit of the game stuff,” he said.
Rahul added that the game had been changed and that there was “little room anymore to take a moral high ground.” Underlining other issues on the cricket field, Rahul said that fielders claim catches when the ball has clearly bounced in front of them while batsmen don’t walk after nicking the ball.
“Where is the spirit of cricket then,” Rahul said expressing his displeasure over the unethical practices in the game of cricket.
As per MCC, the Law 41.16 – running out the non-striker has been moved from Law 41 (Unfair Play) to Law 38 (Run out). Although the wording of the law remains unchanged, the move is believed to have removed the stigma attached to the law.
Welcoming the move, former Indian Captain Sunil Gavaskar said that he hopes names of Indian legends would not be tarnished anymore and that such dismissals will be simply called a run out. Reportedly, Gavaskar has been supporting Rahul in his attempts to eliminate the use of the word Mankaded.
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