Angelo Mathews’ timed out dismissal in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Delhi on Monday (November 6) has become a major topic of debate.

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.

As the 12th man ran with a helmet, Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan had already appealed for a timed out and the Sri Lankan all-rounder was asked to walk back to the pavilion by the umpires without facing a ball.

The incident created quite a stir in the cricket fraternity, with most of the fans and pundits sympathizing with Mathews.

However, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels Shakib Al Hasan was well within his rights to appeal and the decision by the umpires might turn out to be good for the game of cricket in the long run.

"I don't know where it came from. Shakib was well within his right to appeal, and the umpires had to respect that. And we heard in that conversation that he (Shakib) said, 'I'm serious'. And, uh, Angelo Mathews has the right to be upset," Manjrekar said on Star Sports.

"The strap broke from the helmet, but that happened well past two minutes deadline. Now, you will have long term repercussions of this, and those may not be so bad for the game because I find in this sport, there's too much milling around, too much of time wasting," he added.

According to Manjrekar, it is not the right time to raise the spirit of cricket argument and said that no batter will now come to the crease leisurely.

"Spirit and everything we can talk later, but now you won't see a batter taking it easy and coming in his own time because there's always a danger that in the opposition team you might have a Shakib Al Hasan who will put up the appeal," he stated.

Meanwhile, Angelo Mathews launched an all-out attack on Shakib and Bangladesh after the game, calling the act ‘disgraceful’.

Mathews also tweeted screengrabs of match footage, showing the timestamps of Sadeera Samarawickrama’s dismissal and him arriving at the crease to back his claim that five seconds were still remaining before the deadline of two minutes would’ve ended.

This incident added another chapter to the intense rivalry between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In fact, the Sri Lankan players refused to shake hands with their Bangladeshi counterparts following the match.