Saud Shakeel falls asleep during Pakistan's domestic match; Gets timed-out for not taking guard on time

Pakistan batter Saud Shakeel made unwanted history by becoming the first Pakistani batter to get timed-out in the history of the game. Shakeel is representing State Bank of Pakistan in the final of the President’s Cup against Pakistan Television cricket team (PTV) at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday, March 6. 

The incident took place in the 27th over of State Bank of Pakistan’s first innings when the lost wickets of Umar Amin and Fawad Alam on the trot and the side was reduced to 128/3 in 26.4 overs. Saud Shakeel was next in line to bat after Fawad Alam’s dismissal. However, the Pakistan opener did not come out to bat within the stipulated time of three minutes, as per the rules. After a long wait by PTV players, Shakeel appeared at the crease. However, PTV captain Ammad Butt appealed for the time-out dismissal to Shakeel and the umpire upheld the decision. 

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It was reported that Saud Shakeel fell asleep during the match and he was not aware that he was aware of the fall of third wicket until he was woken up by his teammates, However, by then, it was too late as the umpire had ruled him out after PTV skipper Ammad Butt appealed for time-out dismissal, making Shakeel the first Pakistani batter to be given this mode of dismissal in professional cricket. He overall became the seventh player to be dismissed in a rare fashion. 

"Saud reached the crease beyond the three-minute time limit allowed for a new batter to come in and take guard at the crease," match official at the match said as quoted by Press Trust of India. 

The last time a similar mode of dismissal took place was during the ODI World Cup 2023 match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, where Angelo Mathews was timed-out after Shakib Al Hassan’s appeal to the umpire for not taking the guard within stipulated time of three minutes. Mathew became the first player to get timed out in international cricket. However, The first player to be dismissed in this rare fashion was South Africa's East Province batsman Andrew Jordaan in 1987.

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Saud Shakeel was part of the Pakistan team in the Champions Trophy 2025, where they were knocked out of the tournament despite being the host. The 29-year-old played an innings of 62 off 76 balls in the Champions Trophy group stage clash against Pakistan’s arch-rivals India to help his side post a decent total of 241. However, his efforts went in vain as India chased down a 242-run target in 42.3 overs.