The two-month-long cricket carnival, the Indian Premier League (IPL), comes with a lot of fun, celebration, and nail-biting thrillers, However one controversy that always revolves around every season is the debate around the umpiring decisions that spark controversies. Let’s see a few worst umpiring decisions in IPL history, which created havoc among cricket fans.
Worst Umpiring Decisions in IPL Matches
Malinga’s no-ball leaves Kohli furious (RCB vs MI) 2019
With 7 runs needed on the last ball, Lasith Malinga overstepped the bowling crease by a few centimeters but umpire S Ravi didn’t pick it up, costing RCB the game against MI.
The incident left King Kohli fuming at the umpires, reminding them, “We are playing at the IPL level and not playing club cricket. The umpires should have had their eyes open.”
When Dhoni forgot his ‘Captain Cool’ attitude (RR vs CSK) 2019
Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur witnessed something unusual during the match between CSK and RR when Dhoni invaded the ground and had a heated argument with the on-field umpires.
The incident occurred when Ben Stokes was bowling and CSK needed 8 runs in 3 balls. A full toss was delivered, and Santner-Jadeja duo grabbed two runs. Initially, umpire Ulhas Gandhe signaled a no-ball as he thought the ball was above the waist height of Santner.
But leg umpire, Bruce Oxenford, overruled the decision.
All this havoc made Dhoni furious, who stormed into the ground and had a heated argument with umpire Bruce Oxenford, After a lot of chaos, Oxenford’s decision remained final even though replays suggested it was a no-ball.
Third umpire makes third-class decision (PBKS vs RCB) 2021
The match between RCB and PBKS in Sharjah became one of the most talked-about game in IPL history, mainly due to poor umpiring, this time from the third umpire side.
Camera clearly showed the ball had made contact with Padikal’s bat first before getting into the wicketkeeper’s glove, but on-field umpire, KN Ananthapadmanabhan, turned down the appeal.
KL Rahul and his team were very confident and reviewed a caught-behind against Devdutt Padikkal.
Despite a clear spike on Ultra Edge, what came as a surprise to the fielding side that on-field umpire K. Srinivasan, didn’t overturn the decision, and then KL was seen in an animated discussion with On Field Umpires after this incident.
Pant flares up! (RR vs DC) 2022
After a swashbuckling innings from Jos Buttler, scoring 116 runs off 66 balls, RR registered 222 runs in 20 overs against Delhi Capitals at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
When DC came to bat and required 36 runs in the last over, all-rounder Rowan Powell smashed 2 balls out of the park, giving the impression as if he were playing club cricket.
On the third ball, he again hit a full toss for a SIX, which according to Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant and the team management, was a no-ball.
But it was not signaled a no-ball by the on field umpires Nitin Menon and Nikhil Patwardhan and they not even referred to the third umpire ,then Pant threatened to forfeit the match and asked both Powell and Kuldeep Yadav to come out of the field.
Cool Klassen loses his calm
The incident happened in the 19th over after a waist-high delivery by LSG pacer Avesh Khan to SRH’s Heinrich Klaasen was given a no-ball. LSG was not happy this decision and took a review.
TV umpire, Yeshwant Barde, view as a fair delivery which left Klaasen and SRH management frustrated.
After the game SRH batter showed his dissatisfaction on twitter about this incident “Disappointed with the crowd. Breaking the momentum and some poor umpiring”
Klassen was fined 10 percent of his match fees for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct.
