Off The Field

‘Didn’t look good to recall batter after getting him out’: Tamim criticises own captain for Sodhi incident

Written by Shreyas Vyas

The practice of running out batters at the non-striker’s end has long been a divisive issue in world cricket. On Saturday, an incident involving Bangladesh bowler Hasan Mahmud and New Zealand’s Ish Sodhi drew significant attention, for it saw Hasan attempting a similar run out on the Kiwi batter. Mahmud took off the bails before delivering the ball when he noticed Sodhi had ventured out of the crease during the 46th over. Umpire Marais Erasmus consulted the third umpire, who ruled Sodhi out as he was found backing up.

Tamim, who made a return to Bangladesh ODI squad after being away due to injury, expressed that the decision to recall Sodhi “did not look good.”

“I don’t see anything wrong in it,” Tamim said after the match. “The rule is there. If we get someone out, or one of us gets out in that manner, I don’t think we should react the way people are reacting nowadays.

“I think it is a team decision. We will definitely talk about it after today’s incident. If it is a team decision that we will take wickets in this way, we will. If we don’t want to take it, we will not try it. I don’t think it looks good to bring back a batter after getting him out. Either we take it, or we don’t do it.”

Tamim also criticised Sodhi for being careless at the non-striker’s end, insisting that he shouldn’t have left the crease. “I think he [Sodhi] also shouldn’t have done that [left the crease early], he shouldn’t be surprised too. Whether we take it or not, it is the team’s call. I was surprised by his reaction. It is now part of cricket.

“There’s no need for a warning here. It is like a bowled out. Maybe the captain felt that we wouldn’t take that wicket. So he called him [Sodhi] back. There’s no right and wrong. Either you do it, or you don’t do it. Nothing wrong with either. I think we should discuss as a team if we want to do it or not. Going forward, I think you will see a lot of teams taking advantage of this,” said the opener.

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Shreyas Vyas