Oman not averse to ‘Mankading’ again after Hong Kong incident

Oman, which is facing a lot of criticism after effecting a ‘Mankad’ out against Hong Kong in the Asia Cup last month, has defended itself strongly.

Oman assured that in case a rival batsman at the non-striker’s end backed up too much it would first issue a warning before resorting to the unconventional way of getting him out.

Oman, which is facing a lot of criticism after effecting a ‘Mankad’ out against Hong Kong in the Asia Cup last month, has defended itself strongly. Ahead of the World T20 qualifiers at the HPCA Stadium here, the lowly-ranked team said it played within the rules of the game and might do it again.

It was learnt that during an informal interaction with the International Cricket Council (ICC) officials, Oman did not rule out the possibility of performing a ‘Mankad’ out again. However, the team assured that in case a rival batsman at the non-striker’s end backed up too much it would first issue a warning before resorting to the unconventional way of getting him out.

“Whatever we are doing, it is within the rules of the game. You saw the West Indies did a ‘Mankad’ out (against Zimbabwe) in the under-19 World Cup and went on to win the trophy. We are not doing something which is beyond the rules of the game,” said Oman captain Sultan Ahmed, on the eve of his team’s qualifying match against Ireland.

Elaborating on the freak dismissal, which considered by many to be against the spirit of the game, Ahmed said, “When a batsman backs up too much that is also against the spirit of the game.”

Nevertheless, Ahmed’s Irish counterpart William Porterfield said he would not favour such a dismissal. Other teams in the fray have not endorsed ‘Mankading’ either.