'This is how you back up': Ex-ENG star posts Dhoni's clip, shoots 'Mankad' warning to batters amid Deepti run-out debate
Deepti running out Dean to claim England's last wicket on Saturday sparked a massive debate on social media, with current and former players sharing divided opinions over the incident.
India all-rounder Deepti Sharma's run out of Charlie Dean in the third ODI was legitimate going by the ICC manual, as the apex cricket body recently moved the dismissal from 'unfair play' to 'run out'. But Deepti running out Dean to claim England's last wicket sparked a massive debate on social media, with current and former players sharing divided opinions over the incident. Also Read | 'How about a bravery award?': Ashwin brutally takes down Billings, Anderson as England duo pokes fun at Deepti's run out
Batting at No. 9 in Lord's ODI, Dean had staged a dramatic recovery with a fighting 47 and shared a 35-run stand with No. 11 Freya Davies to put England within reach of the target. The England batter was backing up when Sharma stopped in the middle of her bowling action to run out the batter, helping India sweep the three-match series and give a fitting farewell to legendary Jhulan Goswami on Saturday.
While some backed the dismissal, others including Englishmen Stuart Broad and James Anderson expressed their annoyance. Indian cricketers were extremely quick in defending Deepti as social media instantly generated a lot of polarising reactions, leaving the cricketing fraternity divided over the spirit of the game.
Amid Deepti's run-out becoming a hot topic of discussion, former England spinner Monty Panesar has shared his opinion on Twitter. He shared an old video of MS Dhoni, advising batters to keep their bat in the crease while backing up.
Deepti also got support from ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who said wickets ought to be credited to bowlers' accounts when they run out batters at the non-striker's end. He even suggested International Cricket Council (ICC) give an award to the bowler for showing "presence of mind" under immense pressure.
"How about awarding that wicket to the bowler for "presence of mind" under immense pressure and of course knowing the social stigma that he/she would have to deal with post doing it. How about a bravery award to go with it too."
The MCC Law 41.16.1 states: "If the non-striker is out of his/her ground at any time from the moment the ball comes into play until the instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball, the non-striker is liable to be run out."