High time we stopped criminalising bowlers in the name of Spirit of Cricket: Kartik on new 'Mankading' rule

Murali Kartik was a happy man on Wednesday after custodian of the game's laws, the MCC, amended its code to "stop the criminalisation" of bowlers in the name of "spirit of cricket". One of the finest left-arm spinners of his era with 644 first-class wickets, Kartik, who represented the country in eight Tests and 37 ODIs, ran as many as five batters out at the non-striker's end across formats during his playing days.

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On Wednesday, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) amended the laws and stated "...running out the non-striker has been moved from Law 41 (Unfair play) to Law 38 (Run out). The wording of the Law remains the same." This is something that Kartik, along with stars such as Ravichandran Ashwin, have been advocating for more than a decade. "There is a spirit of cricket. But what I have always argued is that this is not 'Spirit of Cricket'. Those people who are actually flouting it were the ones hiding behind the garb of 'Spirit of Cricket'. It was a classic case of 'Pot calling kettle black'," Kartik told PTI during a chat.

So does he feel vindicated after all these years when people accused him of taking "unfair advantage" by running out batters who backed up too far at the non-striker's end? "I would say it is a vindication of what I have felt right. It was definitely high time that we stopped criminalising the bowlers for