Kamal Ghorui
The Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2026 saw a fresh controversy on Friday in a match between the Quetta Gladiators and the Rawalpindiz, as Daryl Mitchell pulled out twice during Usman Tariq’s bowling pause.The New Zealand batter raised concerns about the long pause in Tariq’s action before release. Mitchell walked away twice during the over, before the umpires stepped in to allow play to continue.The incident took place during the match between Quetta Gladiators and Rawalpindi Pindiz. Facing Tariq in the ninth over, Mitchell played a paddle sweep off the first ball he faced.However, he appeared uncomfortable with the pause in the bowler’s action. He walked away twice, pointing towards the mid-action pause. The umpires then intervened and spoke to the batter before play resumed.Tariq conceded three singles off the first three balls of the over. Before the fourth delivery, Mitchell walked away at the last moment due to the delay. The umpire approached him after repeated instances and had a brief conversation before the game continued.Mitchell was later dismissed, caught and bowled by Saud Shakeel, as Pindiz lost the match by 61 runs in Karachi.Mitchell’s approach is linked to advice from Ravichandran Ashwin. Tariq had been a talking point during the T20 World Cup earlier this year, with Ashwin suggesting that batters should walk away, which would force the umpire to call a dead ball. By doing so, Ashwin believes the batter can shift the delay back onto the bowler and umpire, and reduce any advantage gained from disrupting timing.Tariq has been under scrutiny for his stop-start run-up and action. His run-up is followed by a pause before release, after which he goes down on his knees to complete the delivery.He has been reported twice for a suspect action and cleared on both occasions.
