![Ravichandran Ashwin and Usman Tariq [Source: AFP]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1775974289574_RavichandranAshwinandUsmanTariqimage.jpg?type=hq)
Ravichandran Ashwin and Usman Tariq [Source: AFP]
Usman Tariq and Daryl Mitchell were involved in an on-field altercation just a few days ago in the PSL 2026. The duo playing the Quetta Gladiators vs Rawalpindiz clash was involved in a play-and-pause drama that ultimately required the umpire to intervene and solve the matter.
After the incident, India veteran Ravichandran Ashwin, who has been vocal about Usman Tariq’s bowling action, stepped in to support Daryl Mitchell’s action. More recently, Tariq himself was seen taking a subtle dig at Ashwin for his support behind the “unfair” action of the New Zealand batter.
What happened between Tariq and Daryl Mitchell?
During a PSL 2026 clash on Friday, Rawalpindiz batter Daryl Mitchell was seen tactically unsettling Usman Tariq during his spell. Mitchell, at the crease, refused to play against Tariq’s bowling style, protesting against his unique pause-like action.
Notably, Mitchell stopped more than once to frustrate Tariq, as well as the on-air commentators. While Tariq’s prolonged stutter has been a trademark of his bowling ever since his rise in Pakistan and franchise cricket, Mitchell seemed to give Tariq a taste of his own medicine by stepping away from the stumps as soon as Tariq took a long pause.
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Why is Ashwin involved in the PSL controversy?
During the T20 World Cup 2026, Tariq's pause-like action came into prominence among a global audience.
Commenting on his action, Ravichandran Ashwin supported Tariq on his social media handle by quoting ICC laws regarding a pause-like action and his angled arm, which has also stirred controversy due to a chucking-like bowling action.
Nevertheless, Ashwin’s earlier support has now turned distasteful for the bowler himself, as he had previously proposed a solution to handle Tariq by saying that that batters should also pause and leave the delivery if the bowler pauses for too long.
Ashwin supports Daryl Mitchell
Batters should pause and not play the shot to call it a dead ball, which actually happened in the case of Daryl Mitchell, where Mitchell paused to deliberately cancel Tariq's delivery.
After this incident, Ashwin took to his social media handle again, praising Mitchell for his stance on the matter, stating that if the pause is not consistent, then the batter has every right to move away.
He also added that the captain and opposition batters should raise the issue with the umpires and match referees before the game begins.
Ravichandran Ashwin shared that the bowler should consistently maintain his pause time, and if he is not doing that, the batter has every right to deliberately not play the delivery, just like Mitchell did.
Usman Tariq indirectly hits back at Ashwin
After Ashwin's social media post went viral, Tariq took to his own Instagram handle to post a public story, where he quoted an ICC law for foul play.
In the story, Tariq wrote, “Unsporting conduct, foul play. If the batter does this continuously to deliberately distract the bowler or waste time, it can be deemed unfair play. The umpire has the discretion to warn the batter and, if it continues, issue a penalty. Usually five penalty runs to the fielding side.”
Adding to this caption, Usman Tariq wrote, “Happy to hear five penalty runs. Keep it up.”
Here, Tariq might have praised the law itself or Mitchell's deliberate action, or might have indirectly taken a subtle dig at Ravichandran Ashwin's quotation, to cite the inconsistency of the bowler with their pause.
Tariq’s PSL 2026 so far
So far, Usman Tariq hasn’t been a great performer in PSL 2026. He has taken four wickets from five innings at an economy rate of 6.90, while striking at 30. His only decent outing came against Rawalpindiz on April 10, where he scalped two wickets while conceding 23 runs.
Against Multan Sultans and Islamabad United, Usman Tariq went wicketless, conceding 25 and 35 runs respectively. Overall, after the T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, where he picked up 10 wickets from five innings, Tariq’s trajectory in his bowling career hasn’t been very impressive.
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