5 instances when captains were furious with umpires - Ft. Rishabh Pant
Over the years, we have seen several moments when captains have been involved in heated arguments with the on-field umpires during a game.
While the skipper is expected to remain calm in crunch situations, a number of captains have gotten carried away in the heat of the moment, confronting on-field officials over a debatable call.
Be it in international cricket or during the Indian Premier League (IPL), on-field officials have had to face the wrath of a captain at times. The umpire's judgments are key for both teams, as one wrong call could have a major impact on the game's result.
Here, we take a look at five such instances when captains were furious with umpires:
#1 Virat Kohli
India and Australia were battling it out in the second T20I of the series in Melbourne in November 2018. However, rain played spoilsport in that particular contest and it ultimately had to be called off.
The rain got heavy when Jasprit Bumrah was bowling the 19th over. But on-field umpires Simon Fry and Gerard Abood opted against walking off the field, asking for play to continue.
This irked skipper Virat Kohli, who walked to the on-field officials and was spotted having an animated chat with them. The match was halted after that particular over and had to be eventually abandoned due to rain.
#2 MS Dhoni
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) locked horns in the 25th league match of IPL 2019. During the final over of CSK's run-chase, there was quite some drama on the field.
Ben Stokes bowled a high full-toss on the third delivery. Umpire Ulhas Gandhe appeared to have put his arm up to signal a no ball. However, the call was overruled by Bruce Oxenford at square-leg.
CSK skipper MS Dhoni was visibly miffed by the proceedings and decided to walk onto the field to confront the officials.
Despite the protracted debate, the call was not reversed and Dhoni had to walk back disappointed.
#3 Rohit Sharma
During one of the league matches in IPL 2021, Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma was wrongly given out caught behind by on-field umpire Chettithody Shamshuddin during the team's clash against Punjab Kings.
The right-handed batter was unimpressed with the decision and had a few words to say to Shamshuddin before angrily taking a review.
@kshitijshah23 @CricCrazyJohns https://t.co/vP9c14Rfzd
The TV umpire overturned the call as replays suggested that Sharma hadn't gotten any bat on the ball.
#4 Ravichandran Ashwin
Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin captained the Punjab side in the 2019 edition of the cash-rich league. The team took on the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 42nd match of the season.
A bizarre incident took place in the contest as the ball was nowhere to be found after a strategic time-out. Ashwin was angered by the delay and was spotted having a word with umpire Shamshuddin.
Shamshuddin later realized that the ball was in his pocket. He tossed the ball to the bowler and the game finally resumed after the halt.
#5 Rishabh Pant
During IPL 2022, Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Rishabh Pant was visibly upset over a no-ball call during the team's fixture against the Rajasthan Royals (RR).
Delhi required 24 runs to win from the final four deliveries. Obed McCoy bowled a high full-toss, which went for a six. Pant believed that it should have been called a no ball. However, umpires Nitin Menon and Nikhil Patwardhan felt otherwise, adjugding it as a fair delivery.
Frustrated by the decision, Pant signaled for batters Rovman Powell and Kuldeep Yadav to step off the field. DC assistant coach Pravin Amre was also sent to the field for a discussion with the officials.
The decision, however, was not overturned and DC ultimately ended up on the losing side.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Pant stated that he felt that it was a no-ball and mentioned that the officials should have checked with the TV umpire.
Notably, Pant was fined 100 percent of his match-fee for breaching the IPL's Code of Conduct.