Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews on Monday (November 6) became the first player in international cricket history to be ruled timed out in a World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.
After coming to the crease, Mathews was getting ready to face the first ball. However, his helmet strap broke just as he was tightening it around his chin, prompting him to ask for a replacement helmet.
While the 12th man ran with a helmet, Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan had already appealed for a timed out against Mathews and the latter had to walk back to the pavilion without facing a ball.
Mathews pleaded his case with the Bangladesh players and the umpires but it went in vain. After the game, he launched an all-out attack on Shakib and Bangladesh, calling the act ‘disgraceful’.
However, Shakib has no regrets as he detailed out the controversial dismissal in the post-match press conference after Bangladesh’s three-wicket win over Sri Lanka.
Here’s how the conversation between the reporters and Shakib panned out:
Reporter: “Another chapter added to the Sri Lanka Bangladesh rivalry, looking back any regrets?”
Shakib Al Hasan: “Not at all. One of our fielders came to me and said, if you appeal, the law says he’s out because he hasn’t taken his guard within the time frame. So, then I appealed to the umpires, umpire told me whether you’re going to call him back or not, if I said he’s out, then you call him back, it doesn’t look good. I said I won’t call him back. We played under-19 together, World Cup, so I know Angelo for a long, long time, since 2006. Yeah, unfortunate, but within the rules.”
Reporter: “Following up on that question, yes, it’s out as per the rule but in terms of spirit of cricket, did you ever think of calling him back again?”
Shakib Al Hasan: “Well, then ICC should look into it and change the rules.”
Reporter: “As a batter, if you put yourself in Angelo’s shoes and if the same thing happened to you, what would you feel?”
Shakib Al Hasan: “I’ll be careful. It doesn’t happen to me.”
Reporter: “On the Matthews dismissal, I think his helmet strap broke as he was getting ready to face you and later on, he came and I think he talked to you after the umpires had given him out. What did he say? What was your reaction to it? It was an equipment malfunction?”
Shakib Al Hasan: “As I told someone earlier that we have been playing since 2006, you know, against each other. We have played a lot of games against Sri Lanka. I know him very well; he knows me very well. So, he came and asked me whether if I withdraw my appeal or not If I want to, I said, you know, I understand your situation. It was unfortunate, but I don’t want to.”
Reporter: “Was time and over rate a consideration when you did not allow Mathews to continue?”
Shakib Al Hasan: “No, I thought we were not slow on over rates today. But yeah, it was in the rules that a batsman has to come to the crease within that certain period of time and he wasn’t there at that time.”
Reporter: “It’s alright that it’s in the book, but there’s a spirit that we talk about always in cricket. The situation Bangladesh team was in the World Cup before this match or during this match, if you didn’t have that desperation, would you do the same thing in a normal cricket match? This thing hasn’t happened in the last 146 years history of cricket. This is the first time it happened.”
Shakib Al Hasan: “History part. I don’t know if I would have done it or not. But in today’s match, we had to win. If we are in a war, I think you should try to do everything to make your team or country win. So, I did the same thing.”
(SportStar Inputs)
