Ben Stokes asks why he is pulled into debate over what Deepti Sharma did

Cricketer Ben Stokes has asked why he was being pulled into the controversy that broke out after Indian bowler Deepti Sharma ran out England's Charlotte Dean at the non-strikers end in the final ODI between the two women's teams last week.

Stokes was mentioned by some users in debates on social media over the 'spirit of the game' after offspinner Deepti resorted to a mode of dismissal, which though completely within the rules of the game, is frowned upon by some cricketers and pundits.

Deepti ran out Dean after she wandered out of her crease at the non-strikers end even before the ball was delivered, thus ensuring that England landed 16 runs short of the Indian total and India won the ODI series 3-0.


As the controversy raged on social media between the fans on both sides, some users asked whether England's win in the 2019 World Cup final because of the the ball deflecting off the bat of Stokes and going for a boundary was in keeping with the 'spirit of the game'.

That incident happened when Stokes was diving to make his ground and the ball hit his bat and went for four, earning England a crucial boundary that counted when the winner was decided on the basis of the boundary-countback rule.

Stokes noticed this line of argument and tweeted: " "Why are people comparing a ball deflecting of my bat to a mankad."

A mankad - named after the iconic Indian allrounder Vinoo Mankad who dismissed an Australian player this way in 1947-48 - is the act of running out a non-striker if he backed up too far before the ball is bowled. Stokes' point was that while his was not a willful act, the act of running out someone was a deliberate act.

The controversy, meanwhile, refused to die down with Deepti saying they had warned Dean before they ran her out and England skipper Heather Knight saying there was no warning, and that the Indian team was 'lying".