Former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist expressed disappointment with Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Rishabh Pant‘s behaviour towards the umpire during the match against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
Pant engaged in a prolonged discussion with on-field umpire Rohan Pandit after DC used a review for a wide delivery in the fourth over of the first innings at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
At first, it appeared that Pant didn’t signal for a review, but replays revealed that the captain did make the ‘T’ gesture with his gloves. While there were suggestions on air that Pant was seeking input from one of his fielders for the review, the issue might not have been about him initiating the review.
However, Pandit did confirm twice when DC requested another review in the 12th over. During his lively discussion with Pandit, Pant’s gestures suggested that he was requesting the use of UltraEdge in the review for the wide, as he believed he heard something.
However, despite the protests, the wide decision made by the on-field umpire and the third umpire remained unchanged. Adam Gilchrist expressed his belief that umpires should maintain better control over matches and not yield to the demands of franchise captains and players.
“I saw another example tonight where umpires need to take better control of games, and that is in any format. They just got to do a better job at moving things forward. There was a dispute over whether Rishabh had reviewed it. Okay, there was a miscommunication over the review call,” Adam Gilchrist said on Cricbuzz.
“But they stood there and spoke about that for 3-4 minutes. It’s a very simple conversation, I believe. No matter how much Rishabh is complaining or any other player is complaining, umpires should just say, ‘it’s over’ and quickly move on. But if he keeps talking, he should get fined,” Gilchrist added.
Pant has had previous confrontations with umpires and their rulings. In an IPL 2022 match against the Rajasthan Royals (RR), he had threatened to recall the players following a contentious no-ball decision and faced significant fines for his conduct on the sidelines.
“We’re relieved; we really needed this win”- Rishabh Pant
DC ended LSG’s streak of successfully defending scores above 160 by chasing down 168 runs with 11 balls remaining. DC, who had just one victory in their initial five matches, found themselves at the bottom of the table and were at risk of suffering their third consecutive defeat.
However, a remarkable spell by Kuldeep Yadav upon his return and an impressive debut by Jake Fraser-McGurk ensured DC secured the crucial points.
“I think little relief as we wanted a win badly. We wanted to think like champions. Things don’t always go your way but you have to keep fighting hard. There have been phases where we haven’t been up to the mark as a bowling group and some individuals have to step up,” Pant said.
“At the same time, something’s you can control and some things you can’t. I think mostly it’s close together but with some many injuries it’s difficult to get backup players but we won’t be making excuses,” the DC skipper said during the post-match presentation.”
DC’s upcoming match is against the Gujarat Titans (GT) on Wednesday, April 17th.
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