According to the rules of cricket, a batsman can be dismissed in eleven ways. However, in the history of 146 years of international cricket, the world saw ‘timed out’ for the first time yesterday.
Although the out was legal, never before had a batsman been dismissed like this. Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan did not hesitate to take advantage of the opportunity. Sri Lankan batsman Angelo Mathews had to leave the field as he was not ready to play in the allotted time as a new batsman.
As excitement spread on the field around Mathews’ ‘timed out’, controversies also arose off the field. Even if the fourth umpire Adrian Holdstock explained it at the end of Sri Lanka’s innings yesterday, former Pakistan cricketers Wasim Akram, Misbah ul Haq, Shoaib Malik, Azhar Ali consider it against the spirit of cricket. However, Moin Khan agreed with Shakib’s decision.
Akram, Misbah, Malik and Moeen came as analysts in the pavilion program of Pakistan sports television channel ‘A Sports’ yesterday like other days. When asked about everyone’s opinion on the ‘timed out’ of the program host Fakhr-e-Alam Mathews, Akram initially said, ‘Maybe our debate will continue on this. (Timed out) may not be answered correctly. But the real question is whether Shakib should have withdrawn this application or Shakib’s application was not right?’
In response, Shoaib Malik said, ‘Every captain can have his own opinion. If I were the captain, I would never have applied.’ Akram is also of the same opinion, ‘I never thought of such thoughts.’
Also Read: Mathews also pointed the finger at the umpire
Agreeing with Akram-Malik, Misbah said, ‘I also think so. If the batsman is deliberately delaying, thereby causing any damage to the opposing team (Bangladesh), affecting the outcome of the match or penalizing you; Then it would have been accepted. But nothing of the kind happened. You should dismiss the batsman properly. 10 to 15 seconds may be late for someone. After this incident, is there anything called cricket spirit?’
Then Shoaib Malik said, ‘Bangladesh’s loss could have been only one. After 40 overs a fielder had to be kept inside the circle. But in such situations the umpires stop the time (discount the time lost).’
The host Fakhr-e-Alam asked the last question to Moin Khan, ‘Would you have applied?’ In response, Pakistan’s World Cup-winning wicketkeeper-batsman said, ‘Such a decision has to be taken on the field (immediately). According to the law, his (Shakib) decision is correct. If there is a win-lose issue, then it is a good decision. Which he said himself. If I were in his place, maybe I would have applied for a timed out.’
Pakistan’s former captain Azhar Ali has again tuned in to the tunes of Akram, Misbah, Malik. Azhar wrote on Twitter, ‘I’m sure Shakib would have been ‘timed out’ several times in his career if anyone had applied. It could have happened to many of us. Today’s (yesterday’s) events may provide an opportunity to discuss many more outs, which are in the laws of the game. My advice to the current players is not to touch the ball while batting and give the ball to the opposition team. You have to think they are going to bowl the next ball. To me it’s another sad day for sportsmanship.’
Also Read: Torn helmet straps from floodwaters – Cricket’s ‘timed out’
Tags: Shakib Moeen timed AkramMisbah didnt
