"My eyes were closed" - Ahmed Shehzad finally explains why he appealed for a dropped catch in an ODI against Sri Lanka
Pakistan batter Ahmed Shehzad has been a popular pick for meme templates related to dropped catches on social media. Back in 2015, Shehzad dropped a catch against Sri Lanka but appealed for the same, subtly hinting that the ball never hit the ground and was stuck between his biceps and forearm.
The incident took place during an ODI match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, which was the fourth match of their series in 2015. When Sri Lanka's Lahiru Thirimanne smacked a delivery from Yasir Shah towards the leg-side, the ball went towards Shehzad, who was fielding in the deep.
Shehzad appealed for a false catch only for the third umpire to declare it not out. When asked to explain his actions eight years after the incident, Shehzad said on the Nadir Ali podcast:
"It was an error of judgment from my side. I thought the catch was taken. I was quite confident that the ball got stuck here (shows elbow) and it was there throughout.
"If you watch that video from the start, the impact came here (shows elbow again). My eyes were closed, and you don't really know if the catch has been taken."
The ball was on the ground for a few seconds before Shehzad grabbed it and appealed for a catch. You can watch the video of that incident here.
"I promise I didn't know" - Ahmed Shehzad admits he did not want to dismiss the batter in an unfair manner
When asked if his intention was to claim the catch so that the umpire sends the batter back without checking, Ahmed Shehzad answered:
"No, no, I promise I didn't know. It is not possible that you know it is not out and still you would appeal with 180 cameras watching. You cannot just sneak away like that in front of the camera. Errors are a different thing, but you cannot sneak away with a false catch."
Notably, Ahmed Shehzad won the Man of the Match award in that game for a 90-ball 95. However, his false catch attempt has become more popular than his match-winning knock.