ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan cricket greats feel that the on-field umpires should have consulted the third umpire before calling Mohammad Nawaz’s delivery as a no ball in the Sunday’s high-voltage T20 World Cup match between Pakistan and India.
On the fourth ball of the final over of the match, delivered by Nawaz, Virat Kohli smashed a full toss over the square leg boundary and immediately put his arm out to signal no ball. After the six was confirmed, the field umpires indicated that the delivery was above the waist, and hence a no ball.
“The ball seemed to dip but it’s kind of touch and go. To the naked eye, it did not seem like a no-ball but in slow-motion, it does seem like it dipped.
“Any batsman will turn and ask for no ball. That’s not his [Kohli]s] fault. You’ve technology, use it. Why flare up things unnecessarily?” Erstwhile fast bowling great Wasim Akram said in a TV programme.
He said had he and Waqar Younis been the part of World Cup commentary panel they would definitely have raised the issue.
“If we were there, we would have spoken our mind there and then.”
Waqar, who also appeared in the same TV programme, was of the view that the umpire was too late in making the decision and took the call only after Kohli asked for that.
“When the ball is about waist-high, the square-leg umpire’s first reaction is that he takes his hand out, extends his right hand. He is an experienced umpire. That’s his natural reaction. But if you look at the replays, [square-leg umpire] turns around to see the ball. Then after Virat Kohli asked for it.
“I’m not saying and I don’t want to say it’s a no-ball or not. I don’t want to get into that controversy. But the umpire should have called it there and then. It was Kohli’s right to ask for the no-ball and he should do it. The square-leg umpire should have consulted the main umpire and they should have gone upstairs. That’s why the third umpire is sitting there. It should have been left to him. He could call it no ball, six or whatever,” he added.
Cricketer Shoaib Malik also expressed similar views saying, “When you’ve an option, you should take the help from the third umpire, especially in such a big match at a crunch situation.
“Anyone can make a mistake but they should have consulted the third umpire. If the decision was taken after the replays which we saw it would have been better.”
Former captain Moin Khan also said that the decision should have been taken by the third umpire. “Replays show it was certainly a no ball but the [on field] umpires should have checked with the third umpire. The mistake here is that they didn’t take help from third umpire,” he maintained.
