Yesterday an umpiring blunder from Anil Chaudhary during Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals match caught the attention of commentators. It was in the dying stages of the match when the experienced Indian umpire was observed influencing a DRS call.
During the 17th over of DC batting, Ravichandran Ashwin was struck on his pads and SRH appealed for an LBW dismissal. However, Anil Chaudhary appeared disinterested and didn’t raise his finger. To the naked eye, it looked the ball was crashing the leg stump but Ashwin survived.
Anil Chaudhary Sparks Controversy With An Umpiring Error In IPL 2020
Interestingly umpire Chaudhary was seen indicating that the bat made contact with the ball by patting on his knuckles. After seeing this the SRH side got influenced and didn’t use their Decision Review System.
As soon as this transpired commentators Scott Styris, Sanjay Bangar and Brett Lee scrutinised the umpiring of Anil Chaudhary. The three former cricketers questioned why was Chaudhary giving a hint to the players about the bat hitting the ball. They went on to add that the on-field umpire indirectly helped the fielding side even when they had a DRS review up their sleeves.
“Should the umpire be doing that? Standing there saying ‘bat’? With the ability now of teams to have reviews, should he be giving a clue to the players? When we played before DRS was around, we would often see umpires do that, and there was no problem because he was then helping the fielding team out as to say why it was given not out ‘I believe he hit it’. But now, with the DRS”, Scott Styris said.
What Do The Rules Of Cricket Say?
Meanwhile, according to the rule book of cricket, Anil Chaudhary wasn’t at any fault. Under the rules, the players are not allowed to consult with the umpires before taking a DRS review. On the other hand, there’s no specifying regarding umpires assisting the players on the field. But if the players are seen taking the help of any other teammate off the field the umpires can reject the request of the particular review.
Article 3.2.3 of IPL’s playing conditions, “Under no circumstances is any player permitted to query an umpire about any aspect of a decision before deciding on whether or not to request a Player Review”.
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“If the on-field umpires believe that the captain or either batsman has received direct or indirect input emanating other than from the players on the field, then they may at their discretion, decline the request for a Player Review. In particular, signals from the dressing room must not be given. Breach of this provision will be liable for reporting under COC”.
Furthermore, the decision made absolutely no difference to the outcome of the match as SRH comprehensively defeated DC. However, the umpiring standards in the ongoing IPL 2020 continue to remain under the scanner.
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