3 times an U19 player made headlines for attempting a Mankad ft. Noor Ahmad
Afghanistan U19 captain Naseer Khan Maroofkhil dismissed New Zealand's Ewald Schreuder with a non-striker run-out (Mankad) in their Group D match in the ongoing U19 World Cup.
There has forever been a raging debate over this mode of dismissal as many current and former players, and experts feel it is against the spirit of the game.
A total of five 'Mankad' dismissals have happened in U19 matches so far, including the one in the Afghanistan U19 vs New Zealand U19 match on Tuesday, January 23. This is the second time an Afghanistan U19 player has affected a non-striker run-out after Noor Ahmad in the 2020 U19 World Cup.
Here are three instances an U19 player made headlines for attempting a Mankad:
#1 Noor Ahmad
Noor Ahmad made headlines when he used the 'Mankad' mode of dismissal against Pakistan batter Muhammad Hurraira in the quarter-final of the 2020 U19 World Cup. Chasing a modest total of 190, the Men in Green's top order had given them a solid start.
At 127/3, Hurraira was still batting at 64 off 76 balls. But Noor Ahmad saw Hurraira back up too much at the non-striker's crease and decided to run him out. Despite this, Pakistan won the match by six wickets and 53 to spare.
Ironically, Hurraira was adjudged Player of the Match for his match-winning 64 as well as a couple of catches that he took in the first innings. Noor Ahmad plays international cricket for Afghanistan now and also features in the IPL for the Gujarat Titans.
#2 Naseer Khan Maroofkhil
Left-arm spinner Naseer Khan Maroofkhil is the captain of the Afghanistan U19 team that is competing in the U19 World Cup in South Africa.
Afghanistan were bundled out for just 91 runs against New Zealand in this game, courtesy of Matt Rowe's five-wicket haul. However, AM Ghazanfar gave his side the perfect start to the second innings by dismissing three batters for ducks. The scoreboard read 23/4 after 6.2 overs.
The Afghans made regular inroads and New Zealand were 90/8 when Maroofkhil dismissed Ewald Schruder at the non-striker's end. The Kiwis needed two runs to win with just one wicket in hand but got there in the end with almost 22 overs remaining.
#3 Keemo Paul
The West Indies side of the 2016 U19 World Cup included the likes of Shimron Hetmyer and Alzarri Joseph, but it was Keemo Paul who made the headlines for dismissing an opposition batter through 'Mankad' against Zimbabwe.
In a Group C encounter at Chattogram, West Indies took on Zimbabwe in a must-win encounter, with a quarter-final berth at stake. Windies had put up a total of 226 and Zimbabwe's middle order had put them in a strong position.
With Zimbabwe at 224/9 and just one over remaining, Keemo Paul ran out non-striker Richard Ngarava. The West Indies won the match by two runs and qualified for the next round. They eventually reached the final, where they beat India U19 with Paul scoring an unbeaten 40 and taking two wickets.