Published: May 03, 2022, 12:20 PM (IST)
Edited: May 03, 2022, 12:20 PM (IST)
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 has had its share of spills and thrills, with some good cricket combined with some fairly poor stuff. Many players have done exceptionally well, while some have had a very poor turn. The officiating in the tournament too has followed a similar course, with some very good decisions being made by the umpires on the field and on television. Equally however, there have been some really bad ones, which have affected the team’s fortunes in a telling way. There have been reactions from teams, ranging from vehement protests to mild questions, to no avail. The message is simple grin and bear it, and get on with the game.
The first such issue typically takes us back to the Delhi Capitals (DC)-Rajasthan Royals (RR) match of April 22. DC were facing a massive 222 runs and looked quite down and out with 36 runs to get off the last over.
But their West Indian batter Rovman Powell had other ideas. He clattered Obed McCoy for three sixes, to get 18 off the first three balls of the 20th over, raising hopes of a fantastic win.
But the third ball was where it all fell apart. The DC dugout was adamant that the delivery was over waist high and should have been called a no-ball. No such thing was done, so a livid captain Rishabh Pant charged to the edge of the field and asked his batters to walk off.
Better sense prevailed after a while, but not before the incensed Pant sent assistant coach Pravin Amre on to the field to question the umpires.
The sum total of it all? Pant was fined 100 per cent of his match fees, Amre the same, plus a one-match ban and an equally vocal Shardul Thakur lost 50 per cent match fees.
The no-ball still wasn’t called, Powell lost his momentum and DC ended up losing.
There is no doubt that the delivery was borderline and given that the umpires refer everything from clear run-out verdicts to even sixes that have sailed well over the boundary cushions to the TV umpire, there certainly was a case for this to be referred for a replay, but nothing of the sort was done.
Pant was not happy even in the next match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as that too saw him questioning no-ball decisions. Till one went in his favour, of course.
Then, we had RR in a similar position against KKR on Monday night, when the latter’s Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh repeatedly jumped outside the off stump to meet Prasidh Krishna‘s deliveries, pitched to move away from both left-handers.
Krishna was called for several no-balls in the critical last overs, especially the 19th, and RR skipper Sanju Samson was not happy at all. Given that both batsmen were well outside the off-stump, the gap between them and the cricket ball, as per Samson, wasn’t enough to merit such a call.
Samson even went to the extent of asking for a TV referral on one such delivery, to no avail.
The lesson is simple. There is no percentage in arguing with the umpires, so try to do your best within where the guidelines have been placed. Sure, the IPL tournament committee should also take a serious look at some of the pretty ordinary umpiring that we’ve witnessed, but the fact remains that as cricketers, just get on with it. No amount of arguing will change anything.
(This article was first published on india.com)
