IPL 2026: Angkrish's 'obstructing the field' dismissal was well within the laws, says MCC

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has supported the third umpire’s decision to rule Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi out for obstructing the field against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) during Match 38 of the Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026).

Raghuvanshi became just the fourth player to be out obstructing the field in IPL history. The 21-year-old was looking for a quick single during the first innings as he played Prince Yadav towards Mohammed Shami at mid-on. However, he was denied the run by his partner at the crease, Cameron Green.

As a result, he had to quickly rush back to the striker’s end as he turned around and moved towards the leg side and put in a dive to save his wicket.

In the process, the throw from the fielder hit him, and the LSG players went up for an appeal for obstructing the field. He was subsequently adjudged out by third umpire Rohan Pandit. In a clarification about the dismissal, MCC has cited Law 37.1.1, which rules a batter out obstructing the field if they "wilfully attempt to obstruct or distract the fielding side by word or action". 

As the deliberate nature of the obstruction is hard to determine, the MCC mentioned an interpretation published in Tom Smith's Cricket Umpiring and Scoring, the MCC's official interpretation of the laws.

It states that "a batter who changes direction while running, particularly one who changes direction to run on the pitch, or takes any other route that would not be the quickest way to the other end, is making a wilful act."

According to MCC, Raghuvanshi met the above criteria as they also criticised him running in the middle of the pitch, saying, "it’s not somewhere he should be running in any event.”

The statement also mentioned that since Raghuvanshi changed his running direction and moved from the offside to the leg side, he put himself between the ball and the wicket, which is a wilful act by definition.

MCC also said that if Raghuvanshi stayed on the off-side, the ball would not have hit him and there would’ve been no obstruction. "It is the wilful crossing of the pitch that caused his downfall," the statement said.

Raghuvanshi fined for his reaction after dismissal

Meanwhile, Raghuvanshi was visibly disappointed and was seen arguing with the umpire after the decision. Upon returning to the dugout, he hit the bat on the boundary cushions and threw away his helmet in frustration. He was even fined 20% of his match fee and handed a demerit point for breaching the IPL's code of conduct.

Even the KKR camp expressed its displeasure as assistant coach Shane Watson was visibly annoyed. Head coach Abhishek Nayar was also seen in an animated chat with the fourth umpire.

However, the decision didn’t have much bearing on the game as KKR eventually won the thrilling fixture in the super over.