Shubman Gill was warned by the umpire after taking the crucial catch of Travis Head during the 2025 Champions Trophy semi-final on Tuesday (March 4).
Australia opted to bat first in the first semi-final in Dubai and were dealt an early jolt after Cooper Connolly was dismissed for a nine-ball duck. Travis Head increased the scoring rate thereafter, bringing back memories of a familiar onslaught against the rivals in November 2023. The brief cameo came to an end in the ninth over, falling to a much-spoken-about match-up.
Varun Chakravarthy, bowling his second ball of the game, sent down a full-length ball on the middle and off stump, which he lofted towards long-off. Gill, who ran 23 metres towards the ball, ended up taking a fine catch, before throwing the ball up in celebration as his teammates surrounded him.
He was later spoken to by the on-field umpire Richard Illingworth, with the commentators stating that the conversation had to do with the fielder releasing the ball too early after completing the catch.
What do the rules say about being in control of the catch?
According to MCC’s clause 33.3 which pertains to the complete action of taking a catch, “The act of making a catch shall start from the time when the ball first comes into contact with a fielder’s person and shall end when a fielder obtains complete control over both the ball and his/her own movement.”
While there is no official regulation in the law about how long a fielder needs to hold onto the ball to complete a legal catch, it is widely regarded that they should have it in possession for a few seconds to assert control over both the ball and their movement. Whether a catch has been completed accordingly will be at the discretion of the umpires.
Gill, who caught the ball and then flicked it away in celebration in almost one motion, was presumably asked to hold on a little longer in the future by the umpires so as to erase any doubts. There was, however, no question about the legality of his catch given the control he was in of both the ball and his movement.
There have, however, been instances previously when a catch has been deemed illegal after a fielder was not found to be in control of the ball. During the 2023 Ashes, Mitchell Starc’s catch of Ben Duckett was ruled not out after the third umpire failed to establish his control. Later that year, Sean Abbott took a low catch to dismiss Shreyas Iyer, but it was ruled that the ball had touched the ground before Abbott had been in control.
Watch Shubman Gill's catch of Travis Heads here:
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