The MCC have issued a clarification over Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s controversial obstructing-the-field dismissal in the IPL.
MCC: It is the wilful crossing of the pitch that caused his downfall
Raghuvanshi was given out by third umpire Rohan Pandit during Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL 2026 game against Lucknow Super Giants on April 27. The batter was clearly not pleased with the call, and also the KKR support staff, while the commentators felt the official had made a harsh decision. It also seemed in real time that Raghuvanshi didn’t change directions with a “probable cause”.
But the MCC have now explained why the call to give the batter out was indeed fair. As per Law 37.1.1, either batter would be given obstructing the field if they “wilfully attempt to obstruct or distract the fielding side by word or action.”
To deal with situations where a throw hits the batter, MCC’s Official Interpretation of the Laws of Cricket states that “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 Raghuvanshi’s case, the MCC stated that he was wilfully attempting to obstruct the fielding side by taking a route that wasn’t the quickest way to the other end. The KKR batter had notably taken off for the run through the middle of the pitch but while stopping and turning, he went off the strip towards the leg side, getting in line of Mohammed Shami’s throw.
“When he sets off for his run, he is on the off side of the wicket,” the MCC clarified. “As the ball reaches the fielder he crosses to the middle of the pitch – which is not somewhere he should be running in any event – and then turns and runs back on the leg side, putting himself between the ball and the wicket. This is, by definition, a wilful act.
“Had he stayed off the pitch, remaining on the off side, the ball would not have hit him and even there would have been no question of an obstruction. If he had started running down the leg side, then turned and returned to his ground on that same side before being hit by the ball, that would also see him being Not out - he would have been in the way, but not wilfully. It is the wilful crossing of the pitch that caused his downfall.”
“It is the wilful crossing of the pitch that caused his downfall,” the MCC further stressed, while also clearing the air regarding questions that the batter would have made the ground anyway and thus wasn’t obstructing the fielding side.
“There has been some suggestion that Raghuvanshi should not have been given out because he would have made his ground even if the throw had not hit him,” the statement read. “However, this is not a consideration. Provided the obstruction is not to prevent a catch being taken, whether a dismissal was likely is not a criterion in obstructing the field.”
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