Ishan Kishan dismissal: Did umpire not follow the rulebook? What really happened in last night's IPL 2025 drama

In one of the most bizarre moments of IPL 2025 so far, Ishan Kishan found himself at the centre of a dramatic and highly unusual dismissal during Sunrisers Hyderabad’s clash against Mumbai Indians at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Wednesday. Ishan, facing Deepak Chahar, tried to glance a delivery that slid down the leg side. Wicketkeeper Ryan Rickelton collected the ball cleanly, but crucially, neither he nor Chahar appealed for a dismissal.

In fact, on-field umpire Vinod Seshan appeared poised to signal it as a wide. But that changed in the blink of an eye.

To everyone’s astonishment, Ishan began walking off. The batter appeared to imply that he had edged the ball, despite no visible appeal from the fielding side. Noticing that Ishan has begun to walk, the umpire, instead of sticking with his wide decision or pausing to verify the edge, promptly raised his finger and declared him out.

What does the law state?

The replays for the dismissal painted a different picture. The UltraEdge showed no spike, no deviation, and clearly indicated that Ishan hadn’t touched the ball.

The incident was even more controversial because the batter wasn’t recalled, despite MCC’s Law 31.7 allowing umpires to intervene if a player walks off under a “misapprehension of being out.”

According to the law: “An umpire shall intervene if satisfied that a batter, not having been given out, has left the wicket under a misapprehension of being out. The umpire intervening shall call and signal Dead ball… and shall recall the batter.”

The rule further allows this intervention until the next ball is in play, unless the dismissal was the final one of the innings.

In Ishan's case, rather than upholding the law and giving the player a chance to reconsider or review the dismissal, the umpire confirmed the decision based entirely on the batter’s body language. The replay evidence, meanwhile, contradicted any notion of an edge.

Even the former cricketers were baffled at the entire incident, criticising not just the umpire but also Ishan for walking off despite the availability of DRS. The Sunrisers were in an already troubling position when Ishan arrived at the crease, having lost Travis Head for a four-ball duck. The Indian batter's dismissal triggered a batting collapse that saw SRH reeling at 13/4 in just 4.1 overs.

Heinrich Klaasen (71 off 44 deliveries), however, revived the SRH innings with Abhinav Manohar (43 off 37 balls) playing a helping hand to take the side to a respectable score of 143/8 in 20 overs.