PSL 2026: Ruckus over pause in PSL, Daryl Mitchell got angry at Usman Tariq’s action, left the crease in the middle of the field

News India Live, Digital Desk: A new controversy has arisen in Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2026. During the match played between Quetta Gladiators and Rawalpindi Pindies, a heated argument was witnessed between New Zealand’s star batsman Daryl Mitchell and Pakistani spinner Usman Tariq. The reason for the controversy was the ‘strange’ bowling action of Usman Tariq, in which he takes a long pause just before throwing the ball. Mitchell looked so uncomfortable with this action that he refused to play the ball twice and left the crease. Why did the drama happen in the middle of the field? This entire incident happened in the 9th over of Rawalpindi’s innings. When Usman Tariq came to bowl, the long pause between his run-up and release troubled Mitchell. Mitchell believed that this stoppage was being done to spoil the batsman’s timing, which was against the spirit of the game. When Tariq was about to bowl the fourth ball, Mitchell withdrew from the crease at the last moment. After this, an argument started between the two players, which the umpires had to intervene to calm down. Mitchell followed R Ashwin’s advice? The interesting thing is that after this controversy, an old suggestion of Indian veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has come into discussion. Ashwin had earlier said that if a bowler uses such ‘stop-start’ action, the batsmen should move away from the crease so that the umpire can declare it a ‘dead ball’. Fans on social media say that Mitchell implemented the same strategy of Ashwin on the field. Ashwin also supported Mitchell on social media and said that if the bowler’s pause is not the same, then the batsman has every right to withdraw. Usman Tariq’s action has been in controversies before also. Usman Tariq’s bowling action has not come under question for the first time. He has been reported for suspicious action earlier too, although he was given a clean chit in the biomechanical testing of the PCB. Tariq claims that his action looks like this due to the ‘double joint’ in his elbow. However, such opposition from an experienced international player like Mitchell suggests that in the future, the ICC may have to make strict rules on such ‘pause’ actions.