The incident happened during a match between Gulbarga Mystics and Mangaluru Dragons in the Maharaja Trophy 2024.
Afghanistan’s Gulbadin Naib made the headlines earlier this year during the T20 World Cup 2024, when he faked injury during a Super 8s match against Bangladesh in order to buy time and slow down opposition’s scoring after DLS had come into play.
While the move attracted a lot of criticism, it was recently again applied during the ongoing Maharaja Trophy 2024.
This time it was a Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) bowler who tried the antics while playing for the Gulbarga Mystics.
Vyshak Vijaykumar, who joined RCB in 2023, employed Naib’s tactics and fell down in his stride before he could release the ball during his bowling.
To give context, the entire incident happened after rain intervened during Mangaluru Dragons’ chase and their total was reduced from 170 to 61 in seven overs.
With rain looming, the match initially seemed destined for a washout. However, when the rain eased, the Dragons, who were ahead on the required run rate, found renewed hope.
Despite repeated discussions between Devdutt Padikkal, Vyshak, and the match officials, the game eventually resumed with improvised measures. A mat was used to cover the damp patches in the outfield.
After play resumed following the break, Vyshak slipped on multiple ocassions while bowling, prompting the intervention from team physios.
On his third delivery, the Karnataka pacer injured his ankle, likely a result of the slippery landing area. He remained on the ground holding his ankle, while Padikkal engaged in talks with the umpires.
Although the officials and grounds crew worked diligently, using sawdust and pounding the surface, the conditions were ultimately declared unplayable and the match was called off.
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