IPL 2019: AB de Villiers opines on Ashwin-Jos Buttler “Mankading” incident

Ashwin 'mankaded' Buttler in Jaipur and registered his name in infamy.

AB de Villiers felt sorry for Jos Buttler | IANS

South African superstar AB de Villiers has finally come up with his opinion on the R Ashwin-Jos Buttler “Mankading” controversy, saying he feels sorry for the way English batsman was run out, as the Rajasthan Royals (RR) batsman wasn't trying to do anything unfair on the field.

During the fourth match of IPL 2019 between Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and RR in Jaipur, KXIP skipper Ashwin 'mankaded' Buttler that has become the matter of debate among the cricketing fraternity with the many called for amendment in the “Mankad” Law following the incident.

While the Mankading incident created a lot of buzz on the social media, De Villiers, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batsman, delighted with the fact that the 12th edition of the IPL 2019 has enjoyed a fantastic start, as the T20 event witnessed thriller events on the field -from Andre Russell’s dazzling batting to Ashwin- Buttler debate on the internet.

In his column for Times of India, De Villiers wrote, “The 2019 IPL has enjoyed a fantastic start. Andre Russell’s dazzling blast of 49 runs from 19 balls propelled KKR to victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad and set a high standard for the batters, while R Ashwin’s run-out of Jos Buttler at the non-striker's end provided controversy and a major talking-point.”

Meanwhile, the Proteas man also believes that the Mankad rule should be clarified while the 35-year-old felt sorry for the Englishman, saying he wasn't trying to steal a run there.

De Villiers signed off by saying, “I felt sorry for Buttler because he wasn’t trying to steal a run, and Ashwin did nothing wrong because he was operating within the laws. It’s still a grey area, and Law 41.16 needs to be clarified. Either running a batsman out at the non-striker’s end is legal or it isn’t — can somebody please decide.”

(With Times of India Inputs)

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 28 Mar, 2019

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