Won't repeat the 'Mankad' run out again due to backlash, says Keemo Paul

London [UK], Mar 29 (ANI): West Indies all-rounder Keemo Paul ran out Zimbabwe's Richard Ngarava without delivering the ball in the last over of their thrilling Under-19 World Cup in 2016 which resulted in his team's win. And now, three years after the incident, the player said that he won't do it again because of the backlash he received.
"At first, it was definitely tough, I just locked myself away. I saw it on BBC. I read a lot of comments on social media. I took it hard. I cried a lot. And wondered if I did the right thing but my coaching staff and everyone else supported me very well," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Mankad as saying.
"Definitely I believed what I did was right. I was only 17, I came down hard on myself, kept wondering if I did the right thing. That was just instinct. Now I have matured more and I don't think I will probably do it again due to the fear of criticism. I got a lot of backlash for it. I would probably not do it. The criticisms and harsh comments," he added.
Paul went back to Zimbabwe to play the World Cup qualifiers last year and he said that the crowd gave him a lot of flak for dismissing Ngarava via a 'Mankad' run out.
"It's how cricket goes. It is in the rules. I remember going back for World Cup qualifiers and the stadium was packed and it was in Zimbabwe. Everybody shouting against me all the time. It just gave me energy and the vibe to do good against them," Paul said.
The 'Mankad' run out came to the forefront once again as Kings XI Punjab's skipper Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Rajasthan Royals Jos Buttler on Monday in this fashion.
There has been huge criticism towards the Indian off-spinner and the cricketing fraternity is seen divided whether the dismissal was in the spirit of the game or not.
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) on Tuesday said, that Ashwin was just abiding by the rules and he has not done anything against the spirit of the game.
But on Wednesday, the MCC took a U-turn from their previous statement and Fraser Stewart, the academy manager of MCC told ESPN Cricinfo"We now have had a chance to review it in more detail and we think that Buttler was in his ground as Ashwin got into a position when the non-striker could reasonably have expected the ball to have been delivered. Ashwin seemed to pause to allow Buttler to go out of his ground and then obviously he put the wicket down; Buttler did not really make much of an effort to get back into his ground. It is one where we just felt the pause was just too long and therefore not within the spirit of cricket." (ANI)