Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins' decision to not appeal for obstructing the field against Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja surely earned him fairplay points and goodwill from aficionados during match 18 of Indian Premier League 2024. But the move also raised curious reactions from experts. (Full Coverage | More Cricket News)
Former India cricketer and Natwest Trophy final hero Mohammad Kaif asked whether Cummins intentionally refrained from appealing to keep Jadeja, who was batting on a sluggish 25 runs off 20 balls at the time, at the crease instead of the big-hitting MS Dhoni, who was slated to walk in next.
"Two questions to Pat Cummins on withdrawing the obstructing the field appeal against Jadeja. Was it a tactical call to let a struggling Jadeja be the crease and keep Dhoni indoors? Would he have done the same if it was Virat Kohli at World T20?" Kaif posted on social media platform X, soon after the incident on Friday (April 5) night.
The contentious event took place during the 19th over of the CSK innings, after Cummins won the toss and elected to bowl first. Jadeja dug out a yorker from out-of-favour India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and the ball trickled down towards the latter.
Kumar picked up the ball and immediately fired at the striker’s stumps, only for the ball to hit Jadeja on his back. Jadeja was well out of his crease, and appeared to have come in the path of the throw towards the wickets, even if trying to avoid the ball.
Hyderabad were entitled to an appeal, and the umpires converged in the middle to confer too, but Cummins decided against appealing for obstruction. You can watch the video of the incident below.
Cummins later highlighted the “crazy” reception that Dhoni received when he walked out to bat. "Crowd was crazy tonight. When MS (Dhoni) walked out, it was as loud as I've ever heard," the ODI World Cup-winning Australia captain said after the match.
SRH won the encounter by six wickets, with 11 balls to spare. They now have four points from two games and are placed fifth in the IPL 2024 points table.
