IPL 2020: Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting says he plans to have a 'hard conversation' with R Ashwin on mankading

The buzz around the controversial 'mankading of Rajasthan Royals' batsman Jos Butler by former Kings XI skipper Ravichandran Ashwin in last year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) refuses to die down even with the 2020 edition getting set to begin in September. Former Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting, who is the head coach of Delhi Capitals, recently cleared his feelings about the infamous run out and said that he will be having a word with the spinner about the incident so that it is not repeated. Ashwin will play for the Delhi franchise in the upcoming edition of the cash-rich league. [caption id=“attachment_8729871” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] File image of Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting. Sportzpics[/caption] Speaking on The Grade Cricketer podcast show with Sam Perry and Ian Higgins, Ponting said that he felt mankading was not in “the spirit of the game”. Hailing Ashwin as a “terrific bowler”, who has done a “great job in the IPL for a long period of time”, Ponting admitted that he had sat down with his squad after watching the mankading incident last season and told the team that no matter who else does it, they “won’t be doing that”. The former captain of the Australian team said he was firm about not playing cricket in that way. “So, that’s going to be a conversation and that’s going to be a hard conversation I will have to have with him, but I’m pretty sure he’ll take it on the chin,” he concluded. “I think, even him, looking back now, probably he’d say it was within the rules and he’s right to do it, but this is not within the spirit of the game, not in the way I want, at least with the Delhi Capitals anyway.” Mankading is a kind of a run out, where the bowler dismisses the batsman at the non-striker’s end. This happens because the non-striking batsman has left the crease before the ball is released by the bowler. According to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), Ashwin did not go against the rules by dismissing Butler in the IPL game. In a statement released soon after the match, MCC had said that the bowler need not give any warning to the batsman and the move was not against the spirit of the game.