Angelo Mathews was declared timed out

Batter is deemed timed out if they are late by 3 minutes

In WC 2023, it has been shrunk to 2 minutes

After the incident in which Sri Lankan batsman Angelo Mathews left the field as a consequence of being ruled ‘timed out’, there’s bad blood between the two teams (the other team being Bangladesh). 

Players of the two teams refused to shake hands at the conclusion of the match. However, Sri Lankan players greeted the umpires. On the other hand, the two Bangladeshi batsmen too did not put in any reconciliatory efforts to defuse the situation. 

All hell broke loose when Mathews was sent back to the pavilion as the umpires deemed it fit to rule him ‘timed out. The dismissal was the first case in international cricket. 

Mathews did come to the field but delayed taking his guard as the strap of his helmet malfunctioned. So he took assistance from the dressing room. But when the Bangladesh captain appealed against him, it was upheld. 

As per cricket rules, a batter is deemed ‘timed out’ when he fails to take guard even after 3 minutes. But as per the rules in the ongoing World Cup, the time limit has been shrunk to 2 minutes. 

The Sri Lankan captain even vented out his frustration at the press conference and went on to produce evidence to show that he had 5 more seconds left for taking guard. 

The decision has garnered massive proportions and the islanders are mulling lodging a formal complaint with the ICC.