Sunrisers Hyderabad lost their fifth match of IPL 2025 as they went down meekly to Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on April 17. More than the match, Klaasen’s wicketkeeping blunder was the discussed point as it cost SRH a massive wicket of Rickelton.
Mumbai Indians defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by four wickets in the 33rd match of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season. It was a one-sided encounter between the two teams but more than the result, an interesting incident was the most talked-about moment in the clash. It happened during MI’s innings in the seventh over when Ryan Rickelton was called back despite being dismissed.
SRH leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari struck on the fifth ball of the over as Rickelton was caught by the cover fielder Pat Cummins. The batter was walking back to the dugout but as he approached the boundary line, the fourth umpire triggered some drama by stopping him. The third umpire had no issues with the catch or the front foot of the bowler. Instead, it was wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen‘s gloves that were in front of the stumps and it turned out to be a no-ball.
It was a big let-off in the context of the game as Rickelton added nine more runs before getting out in the next over on 31 off 22 deliveries. Even though it didn’t cost them much, a wicket in the seventh over could’ve put more pressure on MI.
Now, let us go back to the dismissal and why it was called a no-ball. It was simply Klaasen’s mistake as a wicketkeeper is expected to know the rule that his gloves are needed to be behind the sticks before the ball makes contact with the bat. According to MCC rules (27.3), the wicket-keeper shall remain wholly behind the wicket at the striker’s end from the moment the ball comes into play until a ball delivered by the bowler – touches the bat or person of the striker or passes the wicket at the striker’s end or the striker attempts a run.
However, KKR spinner Varun Chakaravarthy wasn’t pleased with the umpire calling it a no-ball. He felt that there was no mistake from the bowler in this regard and it should’ve been called a dead ball instead. “If the keeper’s gloves come in front of the stumps, it should be a dead ball and a warning to the keeper so that he doesn’t do that again !!! Not a no ball and a free hit!! What did the bowler do? Thinking out loud!! What do u all think???” he wrote on his X account.
