What should have been a simple run-out in the Bangladesh Premier League match between Chittagong Vikings and Rajshahi Kings turned into a major embarrassment for Pakistan fast bowler Imran Khan due to his ignorance of the rules of the game.
The 16th match of this year’s BPL was a rather mundane affair before a simply misunderstanding of the rules by the 28-year-old Imran Khan in the 17th over of the Rajshahi Kings innings made it a match to remember for all the wrong reasons as far as he is concerned.
The Kings needed 50 to win off the last four overs as the left-arm fast bowler came in to bowl his third over. In the second ball of the 17th over, a well-executed slower ball meant Sri Lankan all-rounder Milinda Siriwardana could only hit it back onto the stumps at the bowler’s end.
The ball then rolled towards Imran Khan who, with both batsmen stranded, hit the stumps again instead of pulling out the wicket as the bails were already dislodged. Danny Morrison, who was on commentary, also remarked that the bowler had “forgotten all about rules” and it was time to go “back to school” after committing a grave mistake of not pulling out the stumps and choosing an under arm throw back at the stumps which were already broken.
Here is the actual law of the game, pertaining to such cases, and why the umpire was right to not give the batsman run-out.
Law 38.2 which talks about when the batsman is not out when he is out of his out {pertaining to Law 29.1(b) (When out of his ground)}.
(ii) the ball has not subsequently been touched by a fielder, after the bowler has entered his delivery stride, before the wicket is put down.
(iii) the ball, having been played by the striker, or having come off his person, directly strikes a protective helmet worn by a fielder and, without any other contact with him or any contact with any other fielder, rebounds directly on to the wicket. However, the ball remains in play and either batsman may be Run out in the circumstances of 1 above if a wicket is subsequently put down.
The law clearly states that you cannot be run-out if the ball hits the stumps directly off the batsman’s bat without being touched by any fielder/bowler. However, the provision 38.2 (iii), also states that if the bowler/fielder, with the ball in his possession, removes the stump (see: wicket is subsequently put down).
In this case, although Siriwardana’s shot hit the stumps at the bowler’s ends, the 28-year-old had the ball in his hand and with both batsmen near the middle of the pitch having a conversation, all he had to do was remove the stumps. But instead, Imran Khan decided to throw the ball at the stumps and although he hit, in accordance with the laws of the game, he cannot be out and thus survived.
The Sri Lankan all-rounder however, couldn’t make the most of the opportunity as he was dismissed in the following over for 4 by Taskin Ahmed, trying to clear long-off but only managing to find Mohammad Nabi, who was fielding there.
Instead of getting a simple dismissal, the 28-year-old Pakistan pacer’s ignorance of the laws meant he was made to look silly by what transpired. Thankfully for his side, Chittagong Vikings still managed to win the game by 19 runs and weren’t affected by this mishap on the field.
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