Kolkata cops use Ravichandran Ashwin's 'Mankad' meme for traffic awareness

Although the MCC, cricket`s lawmakers, have said that Ravichandran 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".

pic.twitter.com/mlcI1qsXeV — Kolkata Police (@KolkataPolice) March 26, 2019

Kings XI Punjab skipper Ashwin sparked controversy after running out Buttler instead of completing his delivery when the Rajasthan Royals batsman was backing up at the non-striker`s end.

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.

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.

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.