(Cricket news) India recently won the 3rd ODI against England to clinch the series 3-0. The series was the perfect farewell to the legendary Jhulan Goswami who has retired from all forms of cricket. The game ended in controversy as India took the last match winning wicket by running out Charlie Dean at the non striker end which is also called as 'Mankading'. Mankading is in the official rulebook of cricket and If it is against the spirit of the game or not should not matter. It goes back as far back as the early 1800s when it was named after Indian cricketer Vinoo Mankad. The batsman is supposed to run 22 yards to complete a run and if running out a batter when he is outside of the crease is against the so-called spirit of the game then the non-striker might as well stand in the center of the pitch. Players like Kapil Dev, Murali Karthik and Ravichandran Ashwin are infamous for mankading and have defended the mode of dismissal.

After Charlie Dean's dismissal, many cricketers like James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Sam Billings criticized Deepti Sharma while Alex Hales and Ravichandran Ashwin among others lauded her. The discussion about the spirit of cricket is a never ending one but it should reach a point where it becomes a personal choice. A player running out a batter at the non striker end is often criticized and called a 'disgrace' for doing something which is well within the rules. Adam Gilchrist, who started the trend of walking when he knew he was out without waiting for the umpire's decision once said that it was a personal choice. He said that just because I believe in walking doesn't mean I'm questioning other people's values. That sort of narrative has to be built around the whole Mankading debate.

Due to the social stigma around the dismissal, it takes a lot of courage for a bowler to do it. Right now is counted as 'Unfair Play' in the ICC rules, the unfair play in this case is not the bowler running out the batter but the batter going out of his crease. From 1st October it will officially be counted as a run out as per the new ICC rules. When Ravichandran Ashwin mankaded Jos Buttler in the IPL a few years ago, he was criticized a lot for it. This time around Deepti Sharma has a lot more support which is a sign that things are changing. People, especially professional cricketers, need to get on with it and accept the fact that it is a rule and there is nothing they can do about it. Targeting people who do something within the rules just because you don't believe in it is incredibly arrogant.

Also read: India whitewash England to give Jhulan Goswami a perfect send off