IPL 2019: Kolkata cops use Ashwin's 'mankading' picture for traffic awareness

Right after Ashwin ran Jos Buttler out during their IPL game in a controversial fashion, the Kolkata Police posted a photo of the incident on Twitter next to a vehicle crossing a traffic line

R Ashwin’s ‘Mankading’ act certainly became the biggest talking point in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). While a plethora of cricketers voiced their opinion on what the off-spinner did, Kolkata Traffic Police took this incident to a whole new level to create awareness among the daily commuters in the city. Right after Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) captain Ashwin ran Rajasthan Royals (RR) batsman Jos Buttler out during their IPL game in a controversial fashion, the Kolkata Police posted a photo of the incident on Twitter next to a vehicle crossing a traffic line, with the caption, “Crease or road, you will regret, if you cross the line”. Here’s the post:

pic.twitter.com/mlcI1qsXeV

— Kolkata Police (@KolkataPolice) March 26, 2019

This is not the first time that Kolkata Police referred to an Indian cricketer’s act to convey a social message. Earlier in December when Cheteshwar Pujara scored his first Test hundred in the Australia tour, they 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.

pic.twitter.com/fNbR2SStuq

— Kolkata Police (@KolkataPolice) December 7, 2018

Talking about the mankading incident, Ashwin sparked controversy after running out Buttler instead of completing his delivery when the RR batsman was backing up at the non-striker's end. It drew a lot of attention on social media and was shared multiple times.

Ashwin Mankads Buttler https://t.co/xMyTZxGY6I via @ipl

— Aakash Biswas (@aami_aakash) March 26, 2019

Many greats of the game including Shane Warne have criticised Ashwin's move, saying it violated the spirit of the game.