CSK vs GT: MS Dhoni Argues with Umpires as They Restrict Matheesha Pathirana from Bowling

Chennai Super Kings defeated Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2023 Qualifier 1 at the Chepauk Stadium on May 23. In the CSK vs GT clash, MS Dhoni was seen arguing with the on-field umpires after they restricted Matheesha Pathirana to bowl the 16th over of GT innings.

The Chennai Super Kings‘ pacer was getting ready to bowl his second over but was not allowed by the on-field umpires Chris Gaffaney and Anil Choudhary. Pathirana was not present on the field for CSK the same amount of time as he had been off it that led to the controversy.

Watch: Umpires restrict Pathirana from bowling the 16th over in CSK vs GT clash

CSK pacer Matheesha Pathirana was off the field for 9 minutes before the 16th over of Gujarat Titans’ innings. The on-field umpires did not allow Pathirana to resume his bowling duties straightaway due to his brief absence from the field after which Dhoni and his teammates got involved in a discussion with the umpires.

MS Dhoni kept the umpires engaged till the time elapsed as other CSK players surrounded the officials and didn’t choose to hand over the ball to any other bowler. The match was stalled for 5 minutes before it resumed and Pathirana was allowed to bowl the 16th over of the chase.

It’s worth noting that Deepak Chahar, Ravindra Jadeja and Maheesh Theekshana had already bowled their quota of four overs till the. Apart from Matheesha Pathirana, Dhoni had only Tushar Deshpandey and Moeen Ali who could have bowled the 16th over.

Commentator Simon Doull too reacted to the controversial incident as he said, “That 5-minute argument with the umpires, he has was unnecessary. All he did was stall and stall the game instead of letting another bowler bowl. He might come to regret that at the end of the match.”

According to IPL’s Law 24.2.3, “If a player is absent from the field for longer than 8 minutes, the following restrictions shall apply to their future participation in the match: The player shall not be permitted to bowl in the match until he has either been able to field, or his team has subsequently been batting, for the total length of playing time for which the player was absent.”