The 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) saw a major controversy as Angrish Raghuvanshi was dismissed for ‘obstructing the field’ during the Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) clash against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. The KKR batsman was left fuming after the third umpire gave his decision, which divided opinions.
Raghuvanshi had to depart after making nine runs in nine balls and was the first batter to be given out in this manner during the 2026 season. The 20-year-old nudged a delivery towards mid-on from Prince Yadav and set off for a single. However, he was sent back by Cameron Green after being halfway down the crease.
Raghuvanshi dived to return to the crease as a throw came towards the batter’s ends. The ball ended up hitting Raghuvanshi, which resulted in Shami appealing.
After taking a look at the incident, the third umpire Rohan Pandit gave him out as he determined that the ball would have hit the stumps had the KKR batsman not come in his way. The match official also stated that the youngster changed his direction while returning towards the crease, and hence it amounted to an ‘obstructing the field’ dismissal.
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Nah man another day another mockery for KKR.😭🤣Angkrish Raghuvanshi was given out for this OBSTRUCTING THE FEILD decision .😭🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/mBXuUMlNV4
— U’ (@toxifyxe) April 26, 2026
The decision has sparked major controversy, as the batter was evidently fuming and smashed his bat on the ground while walking back. The KKR dugout was not happy with the call. The franchise’s head coach, Abhishek Nayyar, was evidently angry and charged towards the fourth umpire to seek an explanation on the decision.
The counter-argument towards the dismissal was that Raghuvanshi did not make any deliberate attempt to stop the ball and it was only in his attempt to dive into the crease that the ball accidentally struck him. Meanwhile, the dismissal only comes into play if a player intentionally stops the ball from hitting the wicket. Further, there is no proof on whether the ball was actually going to even hit the stumps even if Raghuvanshi did not get in its way.
It is expected that the decision will have major implications after the match and be a major talking point.
