Although the MCC, cricket's lawmakers, have said that R Ashwin's 'Mankad' incident was "not within the spirit of the game", Kolkata Police seem to have driven home a message using the incident which drew worldwide attention.
Just after Kings XI Punjab captain Ashwin ran Rajasthan Royals' batsman Jos Buttler out during their IPL game in a controversial fashion, the Kolkata Police posted a photo on Twitter showing the right arm off spinner running Buttler out next to a vehicle crossing a traffic line, with the caption: "Crease or road, you will regret, if you cross the line".
Kings XI Punjab skipper Ashwin sparked a controversy after running out Buttler instead of completing his delivery when the Rajasthan Royals batsman was backing up at the non-striker’s end.
There was another picture adjacent to the Ashwin one, showing a car just crossing the traffic line during a signal.It drew a lot of attention on social media and was shared multiple times. Here is the tweet.
The dismissal, named after Indian bowler Vinoo Mankad who ran out Australia's Bill Brown in a similar fashion in 1947, is permitted under cricket's laws but viewed by some as going against the spirit of the game.
Many greats of the game including Shane Warne have criticised Ashwin's move, saying it violated the spirit of the game.
The ‘Mankading’ incident, however, is not the first-time Kolkata Police used an incident from the cricket field to push a traffic campaign.
When Cheteshwar Pujara scored his first Test hundred in Australia in December 2018, Kolkata Police clubbed his celebration picture with a picture of a person wearing the seat belt while driving his car, with "Defence should be like Pujara" written on it.
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