T20 World Cup: Was the LBW call against Shakib correct?

Shakib Al-Hasan's controversial LBW decision against Pakistan. Photo collected - UNB

Dhaka, Nov 6 — Bangladesh Captain Shakib Al Hasan was given LBW by the TV umpire against Pakistan in today's T20 World Cup match. Shakib just got to the field after the dismissal of Soumya Sarkar and failed to do anything due to a heavily controversial decision that created some chaos on social media as well. 

The delivery of Shadab Khan was straight to the stumps and hit the pads of Shakib as well, but not before touching his bat as the TV replays suggested. 

Bangladesh were off to a good start when the incident occurred. Liton Das fell early to Shaheen Afridi. But Soumya and Najmul Hossain Shanto were steady in the middle and were trying to build on. 

But losing two wickets off two consecutive deliveries put Bangladesh in deep trouble. 

According to TV replays, the ball hit Shakib’s pad after it touched his bat, and the bat was not grounded either -- there was no indication that the signal of the snickometer was generated from the sound of the bat touching the ground. 

It means the signal of the snickometer was actually generated from the sound of the ball touching Shakib’s bat. So in this scenario, the call of LBW against Shakib was not a correct one from the TV umpire. 

“Shakib’s bat didn’t touch the ground at all. Just focus on bat’s shadow. There was a spike,” Akash Chopra, the former Indian cricketer and cricket analyst, tweeted. “It couldn’t have been anything else except the ball hitting the bat. Bangladesh at the receiving end of a poor umpiring decision.”

Brad Hogg, the former Australian cricketer and TV presenter, also cast some doubts over this decision. 

“The tournament has been shadowed by a few dubious decisions,” he wrote on his Twitter. “Thoughts, did the bat hit the ground or ball?”

Ariful Islam Roney, a Bangladeshi journalist who is covering this match from the ground, also opined that it was a big mistake from the umpire. 

“The gap was clear between the bat of Shakib and the ground,” Roney wrote on his Facebook. “TV replays from all angles made it clear. The ball actually hit Shakib’s bat. Did the umpire make a mistake? Certainly.”

Bangladesh eventually ended up their innings on 127 for eight in 20 overs. Najmul Hossain Shanto scored 54 off 48 balls — the highest for Bangladesh. Shaheen Afridi bagged four wickets while Shadan Khan scalped two.  - UNB