Indian veteran Sanjay Manjrekar recently backed the decision of ‘Timed Out’ dismissal of Sri Lankan veteran Angelo Mathews. The rare dismissal took place during the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023 clash between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka on Monday. Angelo Mathews was dismissed without facing a ball, making history for all the wrong reasons.
Bangladesh appealed for a timed-out and Mathews was furious with himself when match umpire Marais Erasmus declared him out. The Sri Lankan all-rounder set an unpleasant record by being the first batter to be timed out.
Angelo Mathews is the first batter to face an uncommon dismissal. Following the dismissal of Sadeera Samarawickrama in the 24th over, the Sri Lankan batter walked out to face Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan. Mathews arrived at the crease with the wrong helmet and his error paved the way for Shakib and Co. to appeal for timed-out.
Speaking at the mid-innings break during the match, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar said that Shakib Al Hasan was well within his rights to appeal and the decision by the umpires might turn out to be good for the sport 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.
Manjrekar explained the string of events that led to the decision. He then raised concern about too much time wasting in cricket and due to Shakib Al Hasan’s actions, that might stop entirely.
“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,” Manjrekar told the broadcaster.
