A simmering cricket feud boiled over into farce in the Pakistan Super League, with New Zealand star Daryl Mitchell repeatedly refusing to face controversial spinner Usman Tariq mid-over in a dramatic on-field protest.
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The extraordinary scenes unfolded during a clash between Quetta Gladiators and Rawalpindiz in Karachi on Friday night, when Mitchell repeatedly stepped away from the crease just as Tariq was about to release the ball.
The Pakistani spinner, whose bowling action has already divided the cricket world, momentarily halts mid run-up before releasing the ball, a move Mitchell clearly deemed too disruptive to face.
Watch the mid-over confrontation in the video above
“Once again [Mitchell] shies away,” one commentator says. “He’s not happy”.
“Can he withdraw from the action?” The other commentator in the box Rameez Raja asks. “I think umpire is going to sort this out and I think he’s got to be ready, Daryl Mitchell has got to be just a wee bit better than that.”
“He’s got to calm down a little, he wants to put [Tariq] off his pace but this is how he bowls actually.”
The batter’s refusal forced umpires into an awkward mid-pitch intervention, while commentators, including Ramiz Raja, voiced visible frustration at the delays.
But rather than a spontaneous act, Mitchell’s protest appears to have been straight from the playbook of Indian spin great Ravi Ashwin who has publicly encouraged batters to counter Tariq’s unusual rhythm using the laws of the game.
Tariq’s action falls into the laws of the game’s grey area however isn’t officially illegal.
He has been cleared multiple times, including scrutiny around the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, where his bowling first became a lightning rod for debate.
The issue centres on his dramatic mid-stride pause.
Under cricket’s laws, bowlers are allowed to vary their run-up, even slow down or briefly stop. What they cannot do is “feign” a delivery once they’ve entered their final stride, meaning they can’t trick the batter into thinking the ball has been released when it hasn’t.
Tariq’s pause comes just before the final delivery movement, meaning umpires have consistently ruled it part of his natural action rather than an illegal deception. That technicality has kept him in the clear but left many batters deeply unhappy.
Mitchell’s response of simply walking away however is also within the rules.
A batter can withdraw from facing a delivery if they are not ready, particularly if something disrupts their timing or concentration – in this case the unpredictable nature of Tariq’s pause.
That’s exactly the scenario Ashwin had predicted.
While speaking on his YouTube channel ahead of the India vs. Pakistan game in the T20 World Cup 2026, Ashwin said, “If he (Usman Tariq) stops before delivering the ball, the batsman has the right to move away. He can say, ‘I thought he was stopping.’
“If I was there, I would have done it. One should do everything to win a game within the rules. I would simply say I don’t know when he will release the ball, and I would step away. If I move away, it is the umpire’s responsibility.
“Imagine the pressure on Usman Tariq in the middle of the match. It would be an incredible joy ride. He is the ace up their sleeves; imagine what he becomes if the batsman reacts like that.”
After Mitchell did exactly that, Ashwin praised the move, saying consistency in the bowler’s action is key and if it’s not consistent, the batter has every right to disengage.
Tariq later hit back on social media, pointing to rules around when a batter is allowed to step away.
“Unsporting Conduct (Foul Play): If the batter does this continuously to deliberately distract the bowler or waste time, it can be deemed unfair play,” he said.
“The umpire has the discretion to warn the batter, and if it continues, issue a penalty (usually 5 penalty runs to the fielding side).
“Happy to hear 5 penalty runs keep it up,” read the Instagram story from Tariq, as per NDTV sports.
Part of the controversy also comes down to optics.
Tariq bowls with a bent arm and low, side-arm release, a style that can resemble illegal “chucking” to the naked eye. But under the ICC’s 15-degree rule, what matters is not whether the arm is bent, but whether it straightens excessively during delivery.
Tariq’s bowling action, has been cleared by the ICC after biomechanical testing.
In February, Australian all-rounder Cameron Green apologised to Tariq for making a chucking action after being dismissed by the spinner in a T20 between Australia and Pakistan.
The Aussie all-rounder was furious as he walked off the ground and appeared to perform a side-arm chuck as he neared the boundary rope.
Like Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga before him – both once questioned for their unconventional actions – Tariq’s biomechanics have passed testing with his elbow position remaining within legal limits.
The controversy drew mixed reaction from fans, one writing on X “very good from Mitchell! That idiot bowler should learn that too much pause is not acceptable”.
Another adding they “completely support” Mitchell and labelling Tariq’s action “bulls**t”.
One fan Manas flagged Ashwin’s comments saying “More than just a fan of @ashwinravi99 he looks like a full-time subscriber to the channel”.
For all the drama, the result was one-sided.
Quetta piled on 182 before rolling Rawalpindiz by 61 runs, with Tariq himself playing a key role with two wickets.
Rawalpindiz currently sit last on the table in eight place with Quetta in fifth exactly halfway through the season.
