A controversy is only a stone’s throw away in the IPL. And this has been that sort of edition, where some of the decisions given by the umpires have created an uproar among the fans. On Sunday, in the match against LSG, KKR’s Angkrish Rahuvanshi was adjudged out, for obstructing the field, which left a bad taste in the fans’ mouth, and also coach Abhishek Nayar‘s.
Controversy alert in IPL 2026
The incident happened in the 5th over of the KKR innings, when Prince Yadav was bowling to Raghuvanshi. It so happened, that the batter played the ball towards mid-on. He instantly started running for a single, and was sent back by Cameron Green, the non-striker, after 3-4 steps.
But by then, it was too late to turn back, and Shami threw it at the batter’s end; by this time, Raghuvanshi, unknowingly had come within the line of the ball, eventually putting in a dive. The ball was stopped there itself, as the fielding side put an appeal for — obstructing the field, out.
This was sent to the third umpire, who adjudged the batter out, after scoring 9 from 8. Despite the verdict from the TV umpire, the KKR camp ended up having a long chat with the 4th umpire, over the legitimacy of the decision. But in all fairness, it was only out, as Raghuvanshi had clearly changed his direction, however unfortunate. The batter too was visibly unhappy with the decision.
What do the IPL rules say?
As per IPL rule 37.1.4, if an umpire feels that a batter, in running between the wickets, has significantly changed his direction without probable cause and thereby obstructed a fielder’s attempt to effect a run out, the batter should, on appeal, be given out, obstructing the field. It shall not be relevant whether a run out would have occurred or not.
Past instances of Obstructing the Field
This is not the first time, that something like this has happened in the IPL. It first happened in 2013, in the Pune Warriors vs KKR match, where Yusuf Pathan was the victim. Then something similar happened with Amit Mishra in 2019, in the DC vs SRH encounter, followed by one against Ravindra Jadeja in 2024 — in the CSK vs SRH encounter.
