'I'll save that one for the next time' - Josh Hazlewood aims to mankad Cheteshwar Pujara in this year's Test series

Mankad hogged the limelight once again last month thanks to the incident that took place during the game between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the ICC U19 World Cup in South Africa. While Mankad is a legitimate mode of dismissal, the majority in cricket fraternity consider it against the law of the gentlemen’s game.

Who could forget the criticism Ravichandran Ashwin faced when he dismissed Jos Buttler in a similar fashion in last year’s Indian Premier League. Not only the fans but some prominent names from the game like Shane Warne and James Anderson had also slammed the India off-spinner. In the latest Mankad controversy, Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmad was at the centre of the storm.

The young spinner created quite a stir with his action. The 15-year old highly-rated spinner pulled out of his run-up to knock the stumps of the Pakistan batsman Mohammad Huraira in the quarterfinal match. The on-field umpire asked for a TV review and it was confirmed the batsman had left his crease before the bowler had released the ball. Fortunately for Pakistan, it did not hurt their cause as they won the game quite comfortably.

In the wake of the controversy, the cricket fraternity was divided into two halves. While one half opined that Mankad should be disbanded, the other half stated that the bowler has all the right to dismiss the batsman when he takes an unfair advantage.

Josh Hazlewood targets Cheteshwar Pujara

While the cricket world is divided over ‘Mankad’, Australia pace star Josh Hazlewood looks like a supporter of the unpopular mode of dismissal. In a recent interview, the right-arm pacer hilariously said that he would save the Mankad dismissal to get rid of Cheteshwar Pujara in this year’s Test series. India will visit Australia for a four-match series towards the end of the year.

Josh Hazlewood revealed his desires when he and a number of other Australian cricketers were asked about the Mankad before the annual cricket awards.

Here is that hilarious clip:

🗣 "I hope I don't find myself in that situation." – Meg Lanning

🗣 "I reckon I'll save that one for the next time … at Pujara." – Josh Hazlewood@gradecricketer chats with the Aussies about the Mankad 😅 pic.twitter.com/8pSpWSU8a6

— #7Cricket (@7Cricket) February 19, 2020

Pujara had made life difficult for Australia when India last toured down under. The right-handed batsman finished the series as the highest run-scorer to help India win a historic series.

More than his runs, it was his patience that sucked the life out of the Australians. He ended the four-match series with a staggering 521 runs at an average of over 74 with three tons and a half-century.