The Twenty20 format, while it is interesting, can sometimes be cruel for the bowlers, as even their smallest of mistakes can cost them big in a close contest. To make things worse, even the rules favour the batsmen and there have been instances in the past when a bowler's actions become a huge point of debate while the batsmen get away with just about anything. One such incident happened during an IPL 2021 game between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Monday. During CSK's last over of the innings, Dwayne Bravo, standing at the non-striker's end, left the crease way before Mustafizur Rahman has delivered the ball, gaining a good couple of yards. While delivering the ball, Mustafizur Rahman overstepped just by a few inches and it was called a no ball, while Bravo's action went under the radar.
The incident made several cricketers furious, with former India bowing coach Venkatesh Prasad being one of them, who shared his disappointment on Twitter. Prasad, who played 33 Tests and 161 ODIs for India, questioned the double-standards and asked ICC how targeting a bowler who as per the rules runs out a batsman, who is trying to gain undue advantage, was fair.
"The bowler overstepping by a few inches is penalised, but a batsman backing up a few yards isn't. The bowler has every right to run out a batsman backing up so far. PERIOD. Calling it against the spirit of the game is a joke @ICC #CSKvRR," Venkatesh Prasad tweeted.
Bravo went on to play a crucial cameo, scoring 20 not out off just eight balls, including a last ball six, as CSK posted 188/9 from their 20 overs.
Bravo's late flourish coupled with Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja's superb bowling effort helped CSK register their second win of the season, taking them to second on the IPL 2021 Points Table.