Another umpiring controversy has erupted at the T20 World Cup involving Pakistani batsman Mohammad Nawaz, who was controversially declared lbw by umpire Chris Gaffaney against South Africa despite an inside edge. The debate centers around whether Nawaz, who may have thought he was run out in attempting to make it back to the crease, would have been saved by the cricketing laws if he had opted for the Decision Review System (DRS). According to cricketing laws, once the umpire has given a decision, the ball is deemed dead, and there can be no “run out.”

However, for the ball to be declared dead, Nawaz needed to choose the DRS option. It appears that in his perception, he might not have seen the umpire’s finger go up, assuming he was run out. Nevertheless, his partner, Iftiqhar Ahmed, should have advised him to stay and review.

On the scorecard, the decision remains as Nawaz lbw b Shamsie. Had he chosen to review, the outcome would not have been a run-out. Two cricketing laws clarify this situation. Law 20.1.1.3 asserts that the ball is considered dead from the instant of the incident causing the dismissal. Furthermore, Law 20.6 specifies that once the ball is dead, no revoking of any decision can bring the ball back into play for that delivery.

The incident occurred off the last ball of the 13th over bowled by Shamsie. Nawaz attempted a sweep, inside-edged onto his pad, and as fielders appealed, he was out of his crease seeking a run before turning back. The umpire ruled lbw instantly, but before Nawaz reached the crease, the throw had hit the stumps.

Waqar Younis commented on the situation, suggesting that Nawaz may not have seen the lbw decision, and Iftikhar should have prompted him to take DRS since the ball would then become dead, and a “run out” would not be permissible.

In the view of a BCCI-accredited umpire, the mistake lies with the batsmen, not the umpire. The umpire maintained that if Nawaz didn’t see the lbw decision and thought it was a run-out, Iftikhar should have alerted him to take DRS. The umpire emphasized that had they opted for DRS, the matter would have concluded, and it would have been a dead ball, preventing any “run out.”

The concept of deeming a ball dead after the umpire rules a batsman out aims to prevent two batsmen from falling in the same ball, avoiding scenarios where a lbw decision could result in the other batsman being run out.