Angelo Mathews slammed Shakib Al Hasan and Bangladesh for the ‘disgraceful’ act of not withdrawing the timed out appeal against him during a World Cup match.
Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews launched a no-holds-barred attack on Shakib Al Hasan and the Bangladesh team for not using 'common sense' and withdrawing the appeal of timed out against him during a World Cup 2023 match at the Arun Jaitely Stadium in Delhi on Monday. Mathews became the first-ever cricketer in international cricket to be timed out when Bangladesh appealed in the 25th over of Sri Lanka's innings. Richard Illingworth and Marias Erasmus, the on-field umpires, asked Shakib twice if he would like to withdraw his appeal considering that the batter's helmet strap broke but upon that he wouldn't, they gave Mathews out.
According to the ICC playing conditions, a new batter has to be ready to play the next ball within two minutes of the previous batter's dismissal. The umpires said Mathews had crossed the two-minute mark even before the strap of his helmet broke and hence was given out. Mathews, however, denied the same and alleged that he had video proof to support his claims.
The former Sri Lanka captain said it was a 'disgraceful' act from Shakib. "I don't know where the common sense went, because obviously it's obviously disgraceful from Shakib and Bangladesh if they want to play cricket like that obviously stooped down to that level I think there's something wrong drastically because - if I got late if I got past my two minutes to get to the crease and in the law says you have to be ready within the two minutes and I was there two minutes 45 or 50 seconds - I still had after my helmet broke off, I still had five more seconds to go. And the umpires also have said to our coaches that they didn't see my helmet breaking. I mean, I was just asking for my helmet," Mathews told reporters after Bangladesh won the match by three wickets.
The veteran all-rounder, who celebrated Shakib's wicket by towards his wrist to suggest a time out, said he had the utmost respect for the Bangladesh captain but things changed after Monday's incident.
‘Shakib had choice to withdraw appeal but he didn’t: Mathews
"I mean, see, up to today, I had utmost respect for him and Bangladesh team. Obviously, you all play to win. And if it's within the rule, it's fine. But the rule clearly says, in my incident today, within two minutes I was there. We have video evidence. We will put out a statement later on. We have video evidence, footage, everything was looked. I'm not just coming and saying things here. I'm talking with proof," he added.Mathews said no other team apart from Bangladesh would have done such a thing. "I don't think any other team would do that because it was black and white. It was equipment, the helmet coming off and it was a safety issue as well, because we know that without a helmet, I cannot face a bowler. And it was just there to be seen. It was not about anyone being disrespectful.
Yes, Shakib had the option of - he knew that this was not time-wasting or I was there within my time. And he had the choice of, but he decided to go the other way. And my personal opinion is, if it was any other team, they wouldn't have done it."
Stating that he was in complete shock, Mathews said he hadn't seen a team stopping so low in his 15-year-long career. The Sri Lanka veteran said it might not have made a difference in the outcome of the match but common sense should have been used.
"I think in my 15 years of career, I've never seen a team going down to that level because obviously the umpires also admitted that it's equipment malfunction, and they could have gone upstairs and checked again.
"Yeah, I mean, what's the point not checking at that time and then saying it afterwards? Because I'm not saying if I was there, we could have won the match. It's a different story. But still, you need to have your common sense in terms of using technology. And also, it was clearly a malfunction. I mean, it just came off. You know, I didn't mean to pull it and break it.
"I still had my time as well and I was in complete shock," he said.
