Sunrisers Hyderabad are reportedly set to approach the BCCI with a formal complaint after Avesh Khan’s bizarre boundary incident during their IPL 2026 loss to Lucknow Super Giants on April 5.
This is the third controversial moment involving SRH in just ten matches, following the Phil Salt catch against RCB and Abhishek Sharma’s disputed dismissal against KKR. The franchise believes they’ve been on the wrong end of umpiring decisions too many times already.
What Did Avesh Khan Actually Do?
It happened on the second-last ball of the 19th over. LSG needed just one run to win. Captain Rishabh Pant smacked a Jaydev Unadkat delivery over mid-off, and the ball raced towards the boundary.
Avesh Khan, standing near the LSG dugout with his batting pads on, swung his bat and struck the ball before it appeared to cross the boundary rope. His teammate Arshin Kulkarni immediately raised his hands in disbelief at the action.
The on-field umpires didn’t intervene. SRH didn’t appeal in real time either. However, once footage started circulating after the match, the debate exploded.
What Do the Cricket Laws Say?
This is where it gets interesting. Under MCC Law 41 (Unfair Play), umpires can impose a five-run penalty if someone not part of the fielding side interferes with the ball while it’s still in play. Law 20.1 also allows the umpire to call it a dead ball.
Had those laws been applied, SRH could have been awarded five penalty runs. That would have changed the equation entirely, since LSG would have needed six runs off two balls instead of one.
However, the counter-argument is equally valid. No SRH fielder was near the ball at the time. Avesh’s action didn’t prevent anyone from fielding. And the ball was already heading to the boundary. An umpire familiar with the situation reportedly told Cricbuzz there was no case to overturn the boundary decision.
What Are SRH’s Other Grievances?
The Avesh incident is just the latest addition to a growing list.
Match 1 (RCB vs SRH): Phil Salt caught Heinrich Klaasen near the midwicket boundary. Replays showed the boundary cushion appeared to move as Salt tumbled, but third umpire Rohan Pandit ruled it out. Klaasen walked off visibly frustrated.
Match 6 (KKR vs SRH): Varun Chakravarthy took a low diving catch at deep square leg to dismiss Abhishek Sharma (48 off 21). Replays suggested the ball may have bounced before Chakravarthy completed the catch. Third umpire Nitin Menon upheld the dismissal anyway. Abhishek later received a 25% match fee fine for his angry reaction.
Match 10 (SRH vs LSG): The Avesh Khan boundary incident.
Three matches, three contentious moments. All going against SRH. According to Cricbuzz, the franchise is likely to formally write to the BCCI raising all three grievances, even though none of the results or dismissals will be overturned.
Will Avesh Khan Face Any Punishment?
Some reports suggest Avesh could receive a one-match ban for infringing ICC rules. However, the IPL governing council hasn’t issued any official statement yet. The key question remains whether his action qualifies as “deliberate unfair play” under Law 41, or just an amateurish celebration that happened to involve a live ball.
Either way, SRH have made their frustration clear. With two losses from three matches, the Orange Army feel the margins have been tipped against them. Whether the BCCI responds remains to be seen, but the conversation around IPL umpiring quality is now impossible to ignore.
