Former Indian and Delhi Capitals Virender Sehwag has jumped to the defense of Kolkata Knight Riders batsman Angkrish Raghuvanshi. During KKR’s match against Lucknow Super Giants on 26 April, Raghuvanshi became only the fourth batsman in IPL history to be given out for obstructing the field.
Raghuvanshi hit the ball from fast bowler Prince Yadav towards the mid-on region and looked to take a single, but non-striker Cameron Green refused to take it. As soon as Raghuvanshi came back to the crease, he was hit by Mohammed Shami’s throw.
In a match that would ultimately have more drama, the third umpire ruled Raghuvanshi out for obstructing the field. He joined Yusuf Pathan, Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja as the only players to be given out by this method in the IPL.
“A tough decision has been taken here” – Virender Sehwag
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Sehwag said that Raghuvanshi had to work hard. He said that there was no deliberate attempt by Raghuvanshi to stop the fielders, even if he changed direction while running.
“Every batsman looks at the fielder when the ball goes to them. You take one run, you take two runs and you see which end is safe. If the throw was coming at the bowling end, there was no need to dive. But when you know the throw is coming at your end, you will dive. Your eyes will naturally go towards the fielder.”
“It’s not like he had his eye on the fielder because he thought, ‘I’m blocking something.’ After that he dived. So, I believe it is not out. When he turned he was looking towards the fielder to see where the ball was coming from.”
“But after turning, he ran and jumped. He was no longer looking towards the fielder, nor was his focus in front. In my opinion, a bit harsh decision has been taken here,” he said.
IPL playing conditions for obstructing fielding
according to IPL The playing conditions, which include the MCC rule book, state in section 37.1.4 that the dismissal mode is obstructing the field.
“For the avoidance of doubt, if the umpire feels that the batsman, while running between the wickets, has changed his direction without any probable cause and thereby obstructed the fielder’s attempt to run him out, the batsman should be given out on appeal by causing obstruction in the field. It will not be relevant whether a run out would have occurred or not,” the IPL 2026 rule book said.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s wicket has put KKR in trouble
Angkrish Raghuvanshi was out in the fifth over of KKR’s innings after scoring 9 runs in 8 balls, leaving the 2024 champions stumbling at 27/3. Despite Mohsin Khan breathing fire around him, Rinku Singh and Cameron Green steadied the ship.
Ultimately, Rinku took KKR’s score to a somewhat respectable position by playing an unbeaten inning of 83 runs. But the match ended in a tie due to drama during the chase.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi; Next star for KKR
In IPL 2026, Angkrish Raghuvanshi has scored 209 runs in 8 matches at an average of almost 30 and a strike rate of 141. He is currently KKR’s second-highest run-scorer in the tournament. He has also scored 2 fifties, which is joint-most with Rinku Singh for KKR this year. He has also hit the most number of fours for KKR this year.
After losing 6 consecutive matches, KKR has finally won two consecutive matches. Their next match is against in-form Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 3 in Hyderabad. KKR will surely hope that Angkrish Raghuvanshi will forget this incident and come back stronger.
Also read: Angkrish Raghuvanshi gets double punishment from BCCI after outcry over obstructing the field out
