Mumbai Indians all-rounder Kieron Pollard was spotted leaving his crease way too early. While the bowler Mohammed Shami still had the ball in his hand, Pollard had left the crease, taking at least a yard’s advantage. It was the second ball of the last over and MI were understandably looking to make the most of every delivery in order to put a decent total on the board. In a bid to push for the maximum runs possible, however, Pollard misused a ‘grey area in the cricketing rulebook.
The clash between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings fuelled the debate again on several social media sites. MI batter Kieron Pollard was noted leaving his crease even before the bowler delivered the ball. Mohammad Shami still had the ball in his grip, Pollard geared up to take a run.
It was the last over and the wounded MI wanted to take the best advantages. In an order to make the best out of it, Pollard took the advantage of the ‘grey area’.
Kieron Pollard Reignites Mankading Controversy
Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator, Murali Kartik, who was on the commentary panel during the incident, criticised Pollard’s gesture. He urged for strict rules to be introduced to shorten the number of such cases.
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Just a few days ago, all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, did the same in Mustafizur Rahman’s over during Chennai Super Kings’ match against Punjab Kings. Some experts like Harsha Bhogle, Simon Doull and few others had fumed at his action.
Former Indian pacer Venkatesh Prasad expressed his disappointment on Twitter and said: “The bowler overstepping by a few inches is penalised, but a batsman backing up a few yards isn’t. The bowler has every right to run out a batsman backing up so far. PERIOD. Calling it against the spirit of the game is a joke @ICC.“
The bowler overstepping by a few inches is penalised, but a batsman backing up a few yards isn’t.
The bowler has every right to run out a batsman backing up so far. PERIOD.Calling it against the spirit of the game is a joke @ICC .#CSKvRR pic.twitter.com/vIHqbe6fWU
— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) April 20, 2021
Both these batters did not face any consequence. But the matter has been a concern for the game. In 2019, Ravichandran Ashwin, who donning Kings XI Punjab’ jersey, had mankaded Rajasthan Royals’ Jos Buttler. Butler became the first batter in the IPL to face the consequences. It had created a lot of debates.
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