Sheikh was given out obstructing the field for pickign up the ball that was in play.
The controversy unfolded when Sheikh played a delivery from Zimbabwe's Ryan Simbi and unintentionally trapped the ball under his foot following an inside edge. Hamza showed sportsmanship by picking up the ball and tossing it to the keeper who had come to collect it.
But to his surprise, the Zimbabwean team saw an opportunity and appealed to the umpire that Hamza handled the ball without permission while it was still considered in play.
This led to the TV umpire being involved and the result was Hamza being given out much to his confusion and frustration. The commentators suggested that Sheikh would be justifiably upset by the decision, which seemed harsh given the circumstances.
This also irked several former and current England cricketers, who showed displeasure on social media.
Stuart Broad took to social media to voice his disapproval of the decision, suggesting that Sheikh was merely trying to help by returning a stationary ball to the fielder.
“Oh get a grip. He's passing a stationary ball back to the fielder? Doing him a favour! Can't give that out,” he posted on X.
Similar sentiments were shared by former England pacer Tim Bresnan and keeper-batter Sam Billings.
The laws of the game cover this incident and state: "37.1.1 Either batter is out Obstructing the field if, except in the circumstances of 37.2, and while the ball is in play, he/she wilfully attempts to obstruct or distract the fielding side by word or action. See also Law 34 (Hit the ball twice).
"37.1.2 The striker is out Obstructing the field if, except in the circumstances of 37.2, in the act of receiving a ball delivered by the bowler, he/she wilfully strikes the ball with a hand not holding the bat. This will apply whether it is the first strike or a second or subsequent strike. The act of receiving the ball shall extend both to playing at the ball and to striking the ball more than once in defence of his/her wicket."