Angelo Mathews Time Out Controversy: Team India’s spin all-rounder R Ashwin has expressed his opinion in the ‘Matthews Time Out’ controversy of World Cup 2023. He has said that both Shakib and Mathews are right in their respective places in this matter. He has said that if we look at the rules, Shakib is not proven wrong from anywhere but the breaking of the helmet strap was not under the control of even Mathews.
It is noteworthy that a historic incident took place in the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh match in the World Cup 2023. In this match, Sri Lankan batsman Angelo Mathews had to return to the pavilion without playing the ball because he took more than two minutes to come to bat. He also achieved the unwanted title of becoming the first and only ‘time out’ player in cricket history.
Mathews delayed taking the strike due to his helmet strap breaking. He also argued a lot with the umpire for this. He is still calling himself a victim in this case. On the other hand, Bangladeshi captain Shakib Al Hasan, who appealed for ‘time out’ against Mathews, has also been saying that his decision was right till now. The cricket world is also divided in this controversy. Some are in favor of Mathews and some are justifying Shakib.
What did R Ashwin say?
Ashwin said on his YouTube channel, ‘One side is talking about rules and the other side is talking about the spirit of cricket. When Mathews came to bat, his helmet was not in place and he wanted to change it. I also saw another video where Shakib forgot to bring his guard in a match against Sri Lanka and he was allowed to bring it later.
Ashwin says, ‘This matter has almost become like a war between these two countries. I agree that Shakib made the right appeal when the time-out was called and the umpire also took the right decision by giving him out. The umpires had earlier warned Mathews about the time out. But Mathews was still disappointed with this decision. His disappointment is also not wrong because no player can accept being out like this. Everyone felt bad for him.
In the end Ashwin says, ‘Both are right at their respective places. One was following the rules while the other became a victim of a helmet malfunction. The victim asked the person making the appeal as per the rules whether he could withdraw the appeal considering the helmet but the person in front said no.
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