"Leave Spirit Of Cricket Out Of This": Harsha Bhogle's No Non-Sense Take On Angelo Mathews' 'Timed Out' Controversy

The 'timed out' dismissal of Angelo Mathews, a first in the 146-year old history of international cricket, has divided the cricket world. The appeal for 'timed out' against the former Sri Lanka captain was done by Bangladesh skipper Shakib  Al Hasan. The incident happened during the 25th over when Angelo Mathews came at the crease after the fall of the fourth wicket. However, visuals showed his helmet strap came off as he was preparing to face the ball. The umpires deemed that he had taken more than two minutes, by which a batter should be ready to face the ball.

While former cricketers like Gautam Gambhir and Dale Steyn were unhappy with the appeal, ex-India batter Sanjay Manjrekar said that Shakib Al Hasan was brave enough to to take the call.

In a long post on X (formerly Twitter), popular commentator Harsha Bhogle explained his take. The post was titled: "My thoughts on the Mathews-Shakib issue."

"You have to believe the umpires. If they say two minutes had elapsed, they had because these are vastly experienced, and very good, umpires and they are unlikely to make those mistakes. Second, ignorance of the law is no defence. If the law is there and you have infringed it, you don't have a leg to stand upon," Harsha Bhogle wrote.

"Shakib was within his rights to appeal and it is not for us to decide whether or not he should have. That is his decision, that is how he wants to play."

My thoughts on the Mathews-Shakib issue.

You have to believe the umpires. If they say two minutes had elapsed, they had because these are vastly experienced, and very good, umpires and they are unlikely to make those mistakes.

Second, ignorance of the law is no defence. If…

Bhogle went on to write in details about how appealing for a 'timed out'