New Delhi: Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s controversial dismissal for obstructing the field during Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) clash against Lucknow Supergiants (LSG) on Sunday has sparked a wide debate, not just about the law, but about the “spirit of the game” and whether the LSG captain should have appealed for Risha to be withdrawn.The incident occurred when Raghuvanshi, attempting a sharp single, was sent back and dived to make up his ground as a throw came in from the infield. The ball hit him at mid-dive, resulting in Mohammed Shami’s appeal. After the referral, the third umpire ruled him out citing a change in the running line.
According to IPL Under the Playing Conditions (Clause 37.1.4), a batsman may be given out if he “changes his direction significantly without probable cause and thereby obstructs the fielder’s attempt to get a run-out”, regardless of whether a run-out is likely.Speaking to Cricbuzz after the match, former India cricketer Rohan Gavaskar disagreed with the decision, saying, “I don’t think it’s an out because when the ball came and the batsman dived, he wasn’t looking at the ball.”“He was looking to make that dive. If he was looking at the ball, he wouldn’t have dived, knowing that if he dived, the ball would hit his body. When he made that dive, that means it was unintentional. So I would assume it wasn’t out.”
IPL 2026 : Should Rishabh Pant have withdrawn the appeal?
However, the big question was whether Pant, as captain, could withdraw the appeal. Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag weighed in, “When you’re winning, you, as the captain, think we can let it go, but since Lucknow weren’t winning, then they thought we’d get this wicket, and we’d get an advantage, so they appealed and, by law, it’s a valid appeal.”“But we can say that according to the spirit of the game, they should not have done that, but when you have made the law, where was the spirit of the game?“But I will say it was the third umpire’s decision, and he was watching it on TV. And when he dived, it’s not like he was looking at the ball … so it was a really tough call.” In sports, Sunil Narine and Rinku Singh star in IPL 2026 to defeat Lucknow Supergiants in a thrilling Super Over. Narine’s double strike restricted LSG, while Rinko sealed the win with a boundary. The win lifted KKR from the bottom of the points table after a tight contest in Lucknow.
