Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan made history in international cricket in somewhat dubious fashion after successfully appealing to get Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews as the first cricketer to be given out "Timed Out". However, the cricketing community's response has been less than favorable.
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Following Sadeera Samarawickrama's dismissal by Shakib, Mathews took more than two minutes to face the first ball, violating ICC rules. Subsequently, Shakib appealed for a Timed Out dismissal, resulting in Mathews being given out for a duck without facing a delivery.
"Well, that wasn’t cool,” remarked former South African pacer Dale Steyn on X (formerly Twitter).
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Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir labeled it "pathetic". "Absolutely pathetic what happened in Delhi today!" he expressed on X.
"It’s against the spirit of the game, that’s what I feel about this," stated former Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis in an immediate reaction.
SkySports described it as a "controversial" dismissal, although it did not violate any rules.
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Charith Asalanka, who went on to score a century after Mathews' dismissal, remarked that it went against the spirit of the game. However, he acknowledged that it fell within the rules of cricket.
Mathews encountered an issue with the strap of his helmet, leading to the delay. He was unable to fasten it properly and requested a new helmet. By the time he was ready, two minutes had passed.