When asked whether this appeal goes against the spirit of the game, Shakib replied that ICC should look into this rule and change it if it feels that way
Bangladesh captain Shakib al Hasan said he has no regrets about appealing against Angelo Mathews for timed out dismissal as he felt like he was at “war” and did whatever was required at that moment in order to ensure the win for the team.
Things got heated at the middle in the 25th over of the first innings when Sri Lanka’s middle-order batsman Mathews was adjudged timed out as the first player in the history of international cricket.
This happened after he came to the crease within the time limit of two minutes but after taking stance called for an helmet as the strap of his helmet was torn.
By the time a new helmet came and Mathews was prepared to face the first delivery, the time limit of two minutes was way over and Shakib appealed to the umpire for a timed out dismissal.
Such an incident created debates all across the cricket world over whether Shakib should have withdrawn the appeal for the sake of sportsmanship.
During post-match presentation, Shakib said he acted well within the laws of the game.
“One of our fielders came to me and said if I appealed, he would be out. So, I appealed. The umpire asked me if I was serious and I said yes and also asked later whether I want to take back the appeal or not and I said no. It’s within the laws; I don’t know if it’s right or wrong. I felt like I was at war. So I had to take a decision to make sure that my team win. Right or wrong, there will be debates but if it is in the rules, I don’t mind taking those chances,” Shakib said after the match.
When asked whether this appeal goes against the spirit of the game, Shakib replied that International Cricket Council should look into this rule and change it if it feels that way.
When queried how Shakib would have reacted if he was in Mathews’ shoes, the Bangladesh skipper said: “I will be very careful then so that it doesn’t happen to me.”
Meanwhile, Mathews asked Shakib to withdraw the appeal at the last moment but Shakib told him he does not want to go down that route.
“We played Under-19 together and also we have been playing since 2006 against each other. We have played a lot of games against Sri Lanka. I know him (Mathews) very well; he knows me very well. So, he came and asked me whether I would withdraw my appeal. I said to him, ‘I understand your situation. It was unfortunate, but I don’t want to (withdraw the appeal)’,” Shakib concluded.
Bangladesh are now sitting at seventh in the points table with equal four points but have a better net run rate of -1.142 compared to the Lankans (-1.16) and the Dutch (-1.398).
Source: Dhaka Tribune.