3 decisions that have stirred a controversy so far in IPL 2024 ft. Virat Kohli vs KKR
Officiating an Indian Premier League (IPL) comes with a lot of responsibilities and public scrutiny. With IPL being the world's biggest T20 league, all eyes of the fans are upon the developments taking place in the tournament.
In this season, there have been many decisions that have sparked debate and received contrasting opinions by the fans. On that note, let's check out the controversial decisions by the umpires.
1) Shubman Gill gets involved in a heated exchange with umpire
In Match 24 of this season, Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Shubman Gill displayed his aggressive side against Rajasthan Royals (RR). It all happened in the 17th over of RR's innings, with Mohit Sharma as the bowler.
Mohit bowled an off-cutter delivery, which went across the tramline, as RR skipper Sanju Samson failed to make a connection. As the on-field umpire labeled it as a legal delivery, Samson decided to take a review.
With Samson being on his tiptoes and a little outside the off-stump, the third umpire initially instructed the on-field umpire to maintain the same decision.
Surprisingly, the third umpire found that the ball had also been out of the tramline in accordance with Samson's position at the crease, while playing the ball. Hence, he overturned the decision, which forced Shubman Gill to vent his frustration at the umpire.
Although Gill's heated chat couldn't reach the outcome, the third umpire's action of reviewing the delivery after making a final decision certainly caught the eyes of fans.
2) Sam Curran protests after MI batters take review following signal from dugout
On April 18, Mumbai Indians clashed with Punjab Kings at Mullanpur. In the 15th over of MI's innings, Arshdeep Singh delivered a wide yorker to Suryakumar Yadav, who stayed leg-side and could not reach out to the ball. The MI dugout, comprising head coach Mark Boucher, batting coach Kieron Pollard and Tim David, signaled 'SKY' to take a review.
Although Punjab skipper Sam Curran saw the input coming from the dugout and protested on the 15-second timer being elapsed, the decision was sent upstairs to the third umpire. After the ball was past the tramline, the original call was changed to a wide delivery.
Following the game, David and Pollard were fined 20 percent of their match fees for breaching IPL's Code of Conduct.
3) Virat Kohli gets furious after being adjudged out
Virat Kohli's dismissal during a game between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders has kept people busy with a debate on changing the rules of the game.
In the third over of Bengaluru's innings, Harshit Rana delivered a high full-toss, which caught Kohli off-guard and he was involved in a caught-and-bowled dismissal. As per the on-field umpire, he was deemed out. Kohli immediately took the review, sensing the ball was above his waist height.
However, as per the measurement done for all players, Kohli's waist was at a height of 1.04 meters in an upright position and leaning forward. However, the ball-tracker showed that the ball would have dipped to 0.92 meters, if Kohli had been inside the crease. Hence, it was deemed a legal delivery, and the former RCB captain was dismissed for 18 off seven.
While going towards the dressing room, Kohli went overboard with his aggression against the umpires.