“Some people are bigger than the law,” ex-ICC umpire tears apart MS Dhoni for his ‘time wasting’ tactics to win Qualifier 1 against GT
Also, Gavaskar urged people to look at what the umpires did instead of pointing fingers at Dhoni.
Follow Us
MS Dhoni arguing with umpire (Image via Twitter)
MS Dhoni is widely praised for his captaincy across the cricket fraternity but an incident during the Qualifier 1 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium has divided opinions. He allegedly wasted time so that the umpires allow Matheesha Pathirana to bowl his second over despite his leaving the field for nine minutes. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were defending 173 runs against Gujarat Titans. Pathirana had bowled his first over after which, at some point, he left the field, though for what reasons, is not known yet. As per the law, a bowler is not allowed to deliver his next over if he leaves the field and will only be permitted after the time was completed since his return to the ground.
When Pathirana returned, Dhoni wanted to hand him the ball but the umpires intervened, telling the CSK captain the reason why the Sri Lankan pacer can’t bowl. But Dhoni argued with the umpire that Pathirana has to deliver, and to that argument, time passed and the game was stopped for four minutes after which Pathirana was allowed to bowl, which was not at all liked by several notable people in the cricket fraternity, including former ICC elite panel umpire Daryl Harper.
“Dhoni wasted time to allow his preferred bowling option to deliver the vital 16th over. That’s the only conclusion that I can draw from the disappointing spectacle,” Harper told Mid Day.
“The issue for me is the lack of respect shown for the spirit of cricket and for the directions of the umpires. There were other (bowling) options for the captain, but they were ignored. Maybe, some people are bigger than the law or in this case, the spirit of cricket. It’s always disappointing to see the lengths that some people will go to in order to win,” he added.
Related: No place for MS Dhoni! Suresh Raina picks this player as captain in his IPL 2023 playing XI
Sunil Gavaskar urges fans to not point fingers at MS Dhoni
The legendary Sunil Gavaskar feels that MS Dhoni was asking for clarification over the umpire’s decision to not allow Pathirana to bowl. Gavaskar urged people to look at what the umpires did instead of pointing fingers at Dhoni. The 73-year-old questioned why the umpires took so much time to clarify the matter to Dhoni instead of being firm with him.
Because the 20th over did not start in its scheduled time, CSK had to face the penalty of fielding with one fielder less outside the 30-yard circle. CSK later won the match by 15 runs and eventually secured a berth in the final for the 10th time.
In case you missed!
Stay Updated!
Gouri Das
(4844 Articles Published)