Unfortunate that my father’s name is tainted, says Vinoo Mankad’s son Rahul Mankad
IPL
Vinoo Mankad’s only surviving son Rahul Mankad has taken objection to the fact that his father’s name is getting tainted after each Mankad dismissal despite it being a legal dismissal. Rahul has also added that there is a little ground to take the moral high-ground in the competitive age of sport.
After Ravichandran Ashwin used Mankading to dismiss Jos Buttler in the team’s first match against Rajasthan Royals, the spirit of cricket debate came to the fore as it has always does following such dismissals. While that is a matter of debate for the fans and experts alike, it has also done significant damage to the legacy of Vinoo Mankad, one of the finest all-rounders India has ever produced, thanks to the fact that Mankad had dislodged the bails at the non-striker’s end and appealed for a wicket when he saw Australia’s Bill Brown regularly tried to back up too far from the stumps despite repeated warnings. Rahul Mankad stated that now it is within the laws of the game and his father’s name shouldn’t be tarnished for doing what was essentially a law now.
“The mode of dismissal is within the laws of cricket. It was not as if my father did it the first time, or it hasn’t been done subsequently. I think it was Australian journalists who had coined the phrase (way back in the 40s). The ICC has already ruled that the mode of dismissal should be called run out. I think it’s appropriate,” Rahul Mankad told Mumbai Mirror.
“I have spoken to many greats, including Sunil Gavaskar, the Chappells (Greg and Ian) and Michael Holding and they have no issue with this form of dismissal. But this doesn’t die as a controversy, it’s unfortunate that my father’s name is tainted because of this,” the 63-year-old said.
The game has moved from the position of passive pleasure to ultra-competitive and considering the fact that winning matters more than anything, it is very hard to see anyone giving leeway to the other. Rahul didn’t see any problem in the current trend and advised that this spirit of the game stuff should be brought up each time an incident like this happens, not during other times when the blatant violation of ethics takes place.
“The problem is that this mode of dismissal is now clouded with this spirit of the game stuff. The game has changed and there is little room anymore to take the moral high ground. Batsmen don’t walk when they nick the ball, fielders claim catches when the ball has clearly bounced in front of them, they even tamper with the ball… Where is the spirit of cricket then? And this is within the law, permissible, what more clarity do they want. The point is it calls into question the players’ integrity and the spirit of the game. It has nothing to do with it. If you take the emotion out of the dismissal, then it’s a simple run out.”
“If you read Ray Robinson’s or Donald Bradman’s books, not much was made out of it. There was history between Bill Brown and my father. It happened
“My father regretted it, he obviously wished it would not have happened. But at the time, he felt that it was the only course of action
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