The Marylebone Cricket Club has thrown its weight behind third umpire Rohan Pandit’s decision to dismiss Kolkata Knight Riders youngster Angkrish Raghuvanshi for obstructing the field in last Saturday’s IPL match against Lucknow Super Giants.
The incident came at the end of the fifth over. Raghuvanshi pushed Naveen-ul-Haq to mid-on, called for a sharp single, then hesitated when partner Cameron Green sent him back. In that split second he veered across the middle of the pitch, turned towards the leg-side and dived, the incoming throw striking him on the body. LSG appealed; the television official ruled the batter out. Only three previous obstruct-the-field dismissals had been recorded in the competition, so debate was inevitable.
On Thursday the MCC, custodian of the Laws, issued a clarification. Quoting Law 37.1.1, it reminded everyone that a batter is out if he or she “wilfully attempt[s] to obstruct or distract the fielding side by word or action”. Because intent is often tricky to judge, the club leaned on Tom Smith’s Cricket Umpiring and Scoring, its recognised guide: “a batter who changes direction while running, particularly one who changes direction to run on the pitch, or takes any other route that would not be the quickest way to the other end, is making a wilful act”.
In the MCC’s words, Raghuvanshi “clearly” fell into that bracket. “He had no business switching from the off side to the leg side; doing so placed him straight between the ball and the stumps. This is, by definition, a wilful act,” the statement read. It added that had he stayed on the off side “the ball would not have hit him and there would have been no question of an obstruction”. The club further noted that whether he would have made his ground is irrelevant: “whether a dismissal was likely is not a criterion in Obstructing the field”.
Former India assistant coach Sanjay Bangar, speaking on television, felt the verdict was harsh yet technically sound. “You feel for the youngster, but the laws are the laws,” he said. All-rounder Carlos Brathwaite offered a similar view: “From the angle we saw, once he crossed the line of the pitch he was asking for trouble.”
Knight Riders staff were less sanguine in the moment. Head coach Abhishek Nayar spent several minutes in conversation with the fourth umpire, and Raghuvanshi himself cut a frustrated figure, waving his bat, thumping the boundary cushion and flinging his helmet. The league later fined him 20 per cent of his match fee and added a demerit point for breaching the code of conduct.
The match itself turned into a thriller, eventually decided in KKR’s favour via a Super Over, though the dismissal remained the main talking point. It is the second time in two seasons the Laws on player movement have made headlines, and the MCC hopes its intervention “draws a clear line” for players and umpires alike.
Obstructing-the-field decisions will always feel slightly subjective; still, the statutes leave little wiggle room. As Brathwaite put it, “If you’re running, just stay in your lane.” That may sound blunt, but after this week few batters are likely to ignore the advice.
