ODI World Cup 2023: Former Pakistan captains give their take on Angelo Mathews’ timed out dismissal

Game 38 of the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 was marred by controversy. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka took centre stage, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, on Monday, November 6, and one of the biggest talking points of the game was the unfortunate dismissal of veteran Sri Lanka batter, Angelo Mathews.

As the 36-year-old was about to take guard upon arrival at the crease in the middle overs, the strap of his helmet broke, which caused some time wastage. Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan appealed over the same, and Mathews was dismissed as 'timed out' without facing a ball. As a result, the bizarre moment caused a lot of controversy with many pundits, with many former Pakistan skippers in the fray as well.

Former Pakistan cricketer Misbah-Ul-Haq recently came forward to talk of Mathews’ dismissal against Bangladesh and opined that it is a given that the law states that the batter should be ready, but common sense should play a role as well.

“I get that the batter should be ready, and it is in the law, but if he tightens the strap of his helmet and it breaks, then where is the common sense?” Misbah-Ul-Haq said this in a post-match analysis on the A-Sports YouTube channel.

“Where was the spirit of the game? Either you are being wronged, or if the batter is delaying on purpose, your overs are getting delayed, or the match result is being affected, there was nothing,” he added.

I would not have appealed: Shoaib Malik

In part of the same discussion on the 'Time out' marred ODI World Cup 2023 game, former Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik gave his take on the Angelo Matthews' 'time out' saga as well. Malik opined that had he been in Shakib’s position in the game, he would have never appealed to get Mathews out.

“Shakib said that one of the fielders gave him the idea of being timed out. The fielder went to his captain when the strap of Matthews’s helmet snapped. Why did the fielder not do this within two minutes? Think about it,” Malik said. 

“Every captain has his own views, but if I was the captain, I would not have appealed. Helmet malfunction can happen with anyone,” he concluded.

Interestingly enough, the former Pakistan legend and skipper, Wasim Akram, too, chimed in and said that looking at the bigger things of the whole game, he would not have appealed either. He also said that his decision would take into consideration the situation and the opposition playing the match.