No Mankads while I am Delhi Capitals head coach: Ricky Ponting cautions Ravichandran Ashwin
Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting has stated that he will not be allowing Ravichandran Ashwin to 'Mankad' any batsmen again, at least while playing for the Delhi Capitals.
Ponting believes that the act is not in the spirit of the game, and it is something that he wants Ravichandran Ashwin to avoid. The former Aussie skipper also made that clear to the Capitals players right after Ashwin's 'Mankad' incident with Jos Buttler during IPL 2019.
“I’ll be having a chat with him about [mankad], that’s the first thing I’ll do. Look, he’s a terrific bowler, and he’s done a great job in the IPL for a long period of time now, but I must admit watching that last season, as soon as it happened and he did that, I actually sat our boys down and said ‘Look, I know he’s done it, there’ll be others around the tournament who’ll think about doing this well but that’s not going to be the way that we play our cricket. We won’t be doing that’,” Ricky Ponting said on The Grade Cricketer Podcast.
Ravichandran Ashwin 'Mankading' Jos Buttler was not in the spirit of the game: Ricky Ponting
Ravichandran Ashwin had created headlines in IPL 2019 when he 'Mankaded' Jos Buttler in a game between the Rajasthan Royals and the Kings XI Punjab. Although it was within the laws of the game, some people from the cricket fraternity severely criticised Ashwin for not playing in the spirit of the game.
Even Ricky Ponting feels the same, and that is why he has revealed that he will have a hard conversation with Ravichandran Ashwin concerning the same. Ashwin was traded to the Delhi Capitals and will be coached by Ponting in the upcoming season.
“So, that’s going to be a conversation and that’s going to be a hard conversation I will have to have with him, but I’m pretty sure he’ll take it on the chin. I think, even him, looking back now, probably he’d say it was within the rules and he’s right to do it, but this is not within the spirit of the game, not in the way I want, at least with the Delhi Capitals anyway,” he further added.
Ricky Ponting thinks that there are other ways to stop a non-striker from taking advantage of the bowling crease. He said that the batsman could be penalised runs if he tries to walk out of the bowling crease too soon.