‘Never seen a team or a player stoop so low, disgraceful from Shakib and Bangladesh’ - Angelo Mathews on timed-out dismissal

The clash between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 caught every headline, and one of the biggest reasons for the same has been the unfortunate dismissal of veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews.

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka faced off in the 38th game of the tournament on Monday, November 6. As Sri Lanka batted first, Angelo Mathews prepared to take the strike in the middle order; however, due to his helmet strap breaking, the veteran batter crossed the time limit and was dismissed timed out without even facing a delivery after Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan appealed for the same.

Speaking of the incident, Mathews opined that he had never seen a team stoop so low in his career. He even went on to state that it was disgraceful to both Bangladesh and their skipper, Shakib Al Hasan.

"It was obviously disgraceful from Shakib and Bangladesh. If they want to take wickets like that and stoop down to that level, there's something drastically wrong, drastically,” Angelo Mathews said in the post-match press conference. 

"It's very disappointing way that Bangladesh played. If it was mankading or obstructing the field, there's no issue. Within two minutes I was at the crease, and it was when I was at the crease that my helmet broke. The umpires saw this. I still had five seconds left. After I showed my helmet, the umpires said [Bangladesh] had appealed. So I asked where common sense was because my two minutes hadn't passed,” he added.

Got no words to explain it: Angelo Mathews

Mathews went on to say that he has not seen a team stoop so low to get a dismissal in his playing career. He also said that no other team would have appealed for the time out and it was unfortunate that it happened against Bangladesh. 

"I've got no words to explain it. In my 15 years of playing I've never seen a team or a player stoop so low. Unfortunately [the strap breaking] happened against Bangladesh. I don't think any other team would do that, because it was black and white. It was equipment malfunction. It was a safety issue as well. We know that without a helmet I can't face the bowling,” Mathews said.