IND vs BAN, 2nd T20I: Why Was Riyan Parag's Bizarre Delivery Ruled a No-Ball by The Umpire?

Riyan Parag is known to partake in a bit of the good old roll of the arm for some slow spin occasionally. But, the Indian had everyone confused with his bizarre delivery that was ruled a no-ball during India’s 2nd T20I against Bangladesh in Delhi on Wednesday.

Chasing a whopping 221 runs set by India, Bangladesh would fail to get off to a strong start, as wickets would begin to fall early.

Arshdeep Singh would get the wickets rolling, following which the likes of every Indian bowler except for Nitish Reddy would claim a wicket after being given a roll of the shoulder as Bangladesh fell to a dismal 46-4.

Finally, a bit of stability would arrive in the form of veteran Mahmudullah and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who would survive the onslaught and drag their side to a subpar 70-4 in 10 overs.

Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav would then go on to give the ball to Riyan Parag, who would be clobbered for six off his first delivery.

But, with the fourth ball of his over, Parag would resort to an interesting tactic, switching up his bowling action to almost that of a sling, as the all-rounder bowled one outside-off to Mahmudullah as he cut the tramline.

The umpire would go on to rule the delivery a no-ball after a bit of deliberation. But, why would a seemingly legitimate delivery be ruled so?

Well, it is because Parag released the ball well behind the umpire as well as committed a back-foot no-ball.

What is that? A back foot no-ball is when the bowler’s back foot touches or crosses the return crease at the time of releasing the ball.

The return crease is the two lines that are perpendicular to the bowling and popping crease, and mark the area where the bowler should deliver the ball.

As per Law 21.5 of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the guardians of cricket laws, ‘The bowler’s back foot must land within and not touch the return crease appertaining to his/her stated mode of delivery.’

Hence, the umpire had all the right to rule Parag’s unorthodox delivery a no-ball, and that is exactly what he did.

The incident would incite a bit of a chuckle amongst all present, but it would be Parag and his Indian side who would have the last laugh, as the part-time offie would go on to nab the wicket of Mehidy Hasan with the last ball of his over, pushing Bangladesh to a dismal 80-5 in 11 overs.