The debate over ‘Mankad’ rule came to the limelight again when England’s Katherine Brunt recently tried to pursue ‘Mankading’ against South Africa’s Sune Luus during a group stage match in the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia; however, she didn’t go further and left the batter with a warning.
Now, India’s star opener Smriti Mandhana reacted to the much-talked rule and said it does permit a bowler to go for ‘Mankanding,’ but a batter could be warned before being dismissed.
“Well, I think it is in the rules of the game that you can get the batter out. But I think it is good for us to give warning once, or twice maybe,” said Mandhana ahead of India’s match against New Zealand.
In a cheeky way, Mandhana also said that if I do that for the third time, then the bowler has the right to get me out via ‘Mankad.’
“As a batter, if I keep doing that, then the third time, I think the bowler has the right to get me out. So that’s what I feel (laughs).”
Not long ago, Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmed had dismissed Pakistan opener Mohammad Huraira in their quarterfinal game at the U-19 World cup in the same fashion, which stirred a lot of debate. Even England’s ace bowler James Anderson reacted to the incident and requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to get rid of the ‘Mankanding’ rule.
Meanwhile, the Indian team has qualified for the semi-finals after defeating New Zealand in their third game of the tournament.