According to the law, a non-striker's run out while backing up is within the laws of the game but there has been no end to the debate in the aftermath of the third and final women's ODI between India and England where Deepti Sharma ran out Charlie Dean to complete a clean sweep for visitors.
Since the time Deepti mankaded the English batter, she has been subjected to unwarranted verbal attacks by the English media, who believe what Deepti did was against the spirit of the game.
Frustrated by the baseless attacks against Deepti, renowned cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle penned down a lengthy post on Twitter and slammed the English media for its 'vitriol' and 'abuse' toward the Indian cricketer.
"I find it very disturbing that a very large section of the media in England is asking questions of a girl who played by the laws of the game & none at all of another who was gaining an illegal advantage and was a habitual offender," Bhogle wrote on Twitter.
"That includes reasonable people & I think it is a cultural thing. The English thought it was wrong to do so & because they ruled over a large part of the cricket world, they told everyone it was wrong. The colonial domination was so powerful that few questioned it. As a result, the mindset still is that what England considers wrong should be considered wrong by the rest of the cricket world, much like the "line" the Aussies say you must not cross having decided what the line should be which is fine in their culture but may not be for others," he opined.
"The rest of the world is no longer obligated to think the way England does and so we see what is so plainly wrong. So too the notion that turning tracks are bad but seaming tracks are fine," he continued.
"The reason I say it is cultural is that it is what they are brought up to think. They don't think it is wrong. The problem arises and we are guilty of it too, when people sit in judgement of each other's approach. England wants the rest of the world not to like running out batters at the non-striker's end and have been vitriolic and abusive towards Deepti and others who have done it," he wrote.
"We come hard too asking others to wake up from centuries old colonial slumber. The easiest thing is to play by the laws of the game & stop worrying about subjective interpretation of the spirit of the game, stop forcing opinions on others," Bhogle wrote.
"The law says the non-striker must be behind the crease till the bowler's arm is at its highest point. If you obey that, the game will move along smoothly," he reiterated.
"If you point fingers at others, like many in England have at Deepti, you remain open to questions asked of you. It is best if those in power, or who were in power, stop believing that the world must move at their bidding. As in society, where judges implement the law of the land, so too in cricket," Bhogle added.
"But I remain disturbed by the vitriol directed towards Deepti. She played by the laws of the game and criticism of what she did must stop," he concluded.
