Ish Sodhi: I was fortunate that they were able to call me back and I’d like to think I’d do the same thing if I was the bowler

Ish Sodhi was run out at the non-striker’s end back up in the second ODI by Mahmud, and the Bangladesh captain called him back, Sodhi said that leaving the crease caught him off guard, but that Bangladesh’s gesture impressed him and Sodhi hugged Hasan after being called back.

The MCC last year removed the stigma associated with running out a batter backing up at the non-striker’s end when this form of dismissal was changed from the category of unfair play to run-out. 

In total, there have been five such run-outs in men’s ODIs, four in men’s Tests, and one time each in men’s T20Is, women’s ODIs, and women’s T20I. Hasan Mahmud may have been the 14th to be fired, but Litton Das made a different choice.

Ish Sodhi was run out at the non-striker’s end backing up in the second ODI by Mahmud, and the Bangladesh captain called him back. Sodhi eventually scored 35, bringing New Zealand’s total to 254. At that point, he was on 17 off 26. Then, on Saturday, Sodhi claimed a six-wicket haul to lead his team to an 86-run victory.

Sodhi said that leaving the crease caught him off guard, but that Bangladesh’s gesture impressed him. However, Sodhi hugged Hasan after being called back.

“We are competitive people. You are competing to win games for your country so it can get a bit heated. I think I was out by such a small fraction, it caught me off guard. I come from a bit of an old cloth when you give the batter a warning. I understand it is not the rules at the moment. I think it was a great gesture by Bangladesh. They handled it really, really well. I was fortunate that they were able to call me back. I’d like to think I’d do the same thing if I was the bowler,”

Sodhi said at the post-match press conference.

“I am not a very good batter. It was a nice gesture. I would do the same thing as a bowler. I have played under some great captains for New Zealand in the past few years. I think they would have done the same thing. I think Litton Das was exceptional in the way he handled it. I hugged the bowler and gave Litton a bit of a handshake. We all respect the game of cricket very highly and really endeavor to keep the spirit intact,” he said.

“I understand that it is part of the rules of the game now. You’ve seen it all over the world. It is a bit of a controversial issue. They could have easily let me walk off. They showed huge sportsmanship out there today. We are fortunate to be on the winning side but it is important to keep the spirit of the game alive, especially when we are playing such competitive cricket to win games for our country,” he said.

Tamim Iqbal, the opening batsman for Bangladesh, stated that he did not see anything wrong with the dismissal and suggested that the team consider if such dismissals will be made in the future.

“I think he also shouldn’t have done that,”

said Tamim about Sodhi getting out of the crease.

“He shouldn’t be surprised too. Whether we take it or not (the dismissal), it is the team’s call. I don’t see anything wrong with it. The rule is there. If we get someone out, or one of us gets out in that manner, I don’t think we should react the way people are reacting nowadays.

“There’s no need for a warning here. It is like a bowled out. Maybe the captain felt that we wouldn’t take that wicket. So he called him back. There’s no right and wrong. Either you do it, or you don’t do it. Nothing wrong with either. I think we should discuss as a team if we want to do it or not. Going forward, I think you will see a lot of teams taking advantage of this.

“I think it is a team decision. We will talk about it after the today’s incident. If it is a team decision that we will take wickets in this way, we will. If we don’t want to take it, we will not try it. I don’t think it looks good to bring back a batter after getting him out. Either we take it, or we don’t do it,”

said Tamim.

Bangladesh will play their opening game of the ICC World Cup 2023 against Afghanistan. The match between Bangladesh and Afghanistan will take place at Dharamsala’s HPCA Stadium on October 7.  However, Bangladesh has not yet unveiled its 2023 ICC World Cup squad.

New Zealand squad for World Cup 2023: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.