Mohammad Rizwan was run out in bizarre manner during the 2023 Asia Cup clash against Nepal when he tried to evade the ball that was headed towards him, but he failed to drag his bat back in. R Ashwin provided a probable explanation.

Rizwan was batting on 44 in 50 balls during the tournament opener on August 30, but Dipendra Singh Airee ran him out with a direct hit off the fourth ball of the 24th over. Rizwan pushed a delivery from Sandeep Lamichhane towards cover-point and ran a quick single. With eyes firmly on the ball, he realised the ball was coming directly at him; he was forced to take evasive action, jumping to avoid being hit by the ball.

However, he failed to ground his bat as he was preoccupied with evading the ball from hitting him instead, and the direct hit ensured he had to walk back.

Ashwin, not a member of India’s Asia Cup squad, analysed on X (Twitter) how Rizwan’s run out could be attributed to the fact that he was not wearing a helmet at that point in time: “The height of the throw made it harder to evade for Rizwan but for someone who generally dives to make his ground all the time while running between the wickets, this is a rare instance of him ducking for cover and the only reason is that he isn’t wearing his helmet.

He loves sweeping against spin and no helmet makes it even more bizarre.”

The height of the throw made it harder to evade for Rizwan but for someone who generally dives to make his ground all the time while running between the wickets, this is a rare instance of him ducking for cover and the only reason is that he isn’t wearing his helmet.

He loves… pic.twitter.com/asBSX6rf9n

— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) August 30, 2023

In 173 international innings, Rizwan has been run out only 11 times, and on six occasions in ODIs.

This is not the first time that a Pakistan batter has been dismissed in a similar fashion. During the first Test against India in 2007 at Feroz Shah Kotla, Misbah-ul-Haq played the ball towards Dinesh Karthik and ran for a single.

Misbah, watching the ball, jumped up in the air when Karthik threw it towards the non-striker’s end. This allowed a passage to be created, and the ball went on to hit the stumps.