Veteran Bangladeshi batter Tamim Iqbal shared his thoughts on stand-in captain Litton Das’ decision to call back Ish Sodhi after he was run by the bowler at the non-striker end for backing up too far during the second ODI against New Zealand in Mirpur.
On Saturday, an incident involving Bangladesh bowler Hasan Mahmud and New Zealand's Ish Sodhi drew significant attention, for it saw Hasan attempting a similar run out on the Kiwi batter. Hasan took off the bails before delivering the ball, after seeing that Sodhi had moved out of the crease in the 46th over.
Umpire Marais Erasmus consulted the third umpire, who ruled Sodhi out as he was found backing up. While returning to the pavilion, Sodhi sarcastically applauded Mahmud, but Bangladesh captain Litton Das intervened and eventually called Sodhi back to continue playing.
However, Tamim Iqbal thinks differently about the incident of Litton calling back Sodhi after his run out. Tamim, who made a return to the Bangladesh ODI squad after being away due to injury, expressed that the decision to recall Sodhi “did not look good.”
"I don't see anything wrong in it. The rule is there. If we get someone out, or one of us gets out in that manner, I don't think we should react the way people are reacting nowadays. I think it is a team decision. We will talk about it after today's incident. If it is a team decision that we will take wickets in this way, we will. If we don't want to take it, we will not try it. I don't think it looks good to bring back a batter after getting him out. Either we take it, or we don't do it,” Tamim was quoted by Hindustan Times.
Tamim also criticized Sodhi for being careless at the non-striker's end, insisting that he shouldn't have left the crease.
"I think he [Sodhi] also shouldn't have done that [left the crease early], he shouldn't be surprised too. Whether we take it or not, it is the team's call. I was surprised by his reaction. It is now part of cricket. There's no need for a warning here. It is like a bowled out. Maybe the captain felt that we wouldn't take that wicket. So he called him [Sodhi] back.
There's no right and wrong. Either you do it, or you don't do it. Nothing wrong with either. I think we should discuss as a team if we want to do it or not. Going forward, I think you will see a lot of teams taking advantage of this,” said the opener.
Sodhi, however, commended Bangladesh for their "tremendous sportsmanship”.
"I am not a very good batter but it was a nice gesture. I would do the same thing as a bowler. I have played under some great captains for New Zealand in the past few years. I think they would have done the same thing. I think Litton Das was exceptional in the way he handled it. I hugged the bowler and gave Litton a bit of a handshake. We all respect the game of cricket very highly and endeavour to keep the spirit intact,” Sodhi said.
