Watch: Anil Chaudhary explains why viral tennis ball cricket dismissal isn’t out

Published - 17 Jul 2025, 22:12 IST | Updated - 17 Jul 2025, 22:13 IST

Former prominent umpire Anil Chaudhary recently weighed in on a viral tennis ball cricket clip doing rounds on social media in relation to a batter being declared as 'out' after his cap fell off his head onto the stumps after the shot had been completed. Chaudhary took to Instagram to express his opinion and share quite an obscure regulation of cricket to clear things up once and for all.

In the video which Chaudhury uploaded, he explained how any material from the batters' end - be it a piece of the bat or a cap - if fell upon the stumps after the batter has completed the shot is legally termed 'not-out' according to Law 35.2 outlined by the Marylebone Cricket Club. Although he did not discuss anything about Oshane Thomas' potential hit wicket incident which was overturned from the 2019 World Cup clash against Bangladesh, a snippet of the same was attached to the post.

A post shared by Anil Chaudhary (@anilchaudhary.13)

According to Law 35.2, if a batsman breaks the wicket with their equipment after they have completed the action of playing the shot, they are safe.

Speaking about the incident which has stirred up the meme community across social media platforms, the left-handed batter could be seen swinging across the line in a bid to hit the ball for a boundary during an unknown tennis ball cricket tournament on a local ground. The batter seemed to be disappointed with his unconnected shot, something which prompted him to mildly tap the longitudinal face of the bat on his head.

A post shared by Surat Tennis Cricket (@surat_tennis_cricket_)

However, what occurred next was what was least expected. The cap which the batter was wearing came off from his head and fell right on top of the stumps behind. As per the entire clip above, it is shown that the batter seemed to have been declared hit wicket by the square leg umpire almost immediately after the fielding team appealed for the bizarre occurrence.