"If he keeps talking, he should get fined" - Adam Gilchrist calls for a reprimand after Rishabh Pant's animated discussion with umpires
Former Australia wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist was left unimpressed with the Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Rishabh Pant's demeanor on the field against the umpire during the clash against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
On Friday, Pant was involved in a lengthy and drawn-out discussion with on-field umpire Rohan Pandit after DC burned a review for a wide in the fourth over of the first innings at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
Initially, it seemed like Pant did not request a review, but the replays showed that the skipper made the 'T' gesture with his gloves. Although claims were made on air that Pant was asking one of his fielders for the review, the problem was perhaps not about him calling for a review. But Pandit did confirm twice when DC demanded another review in the 12th over.
Based on the wicket-keeper's gestures during his animated conversation with Pandit, Pant was apparently asking for ultra edge to be used in the review call for the wide as he had heard something. However, despite all the protests, the wide call determined by the on-field umpire and the third umpire stood.
Adam Gilchrist opined that umpires need to have better control over the matches and not cater to the whim of the franchise captains and players.
“I saw another example tonight where umpires need to take better control of games, and that is in any format. They just got to do a better job at moving things forward. There was a dispute over whether Rishabh had reviewed it. Okay, there was a miscommunication over the review call," Adam Gilchrist said on Cricbuzz.
"But they stood there and spoke about that for 3-4 minutes. It's a very simple conversation, I believe. No matter how much Rishabh is complaining or any other player is complaining, umpires should just say, 'it's over' and quickly move on. But if he keeps talking, he should get fined,” Gilchrist added.
This is not the first time that Pant has been up against umpires and their decisions. During an IPL 2022 clash against the Rajasthan Royals (RR), Pant had threatened to call the players back after a controversial no-ball decision and was heavily fined for his behavior on the sidelines.
"Little relief, we wanted a win badly" - Rishabh Pant
DC broke LSG's dominant record of defending totals in excess of 160, as they chased down 168 runs with 11 balls to spare.
DC were placed at the bottom of the table with only one win from their first five matches and were on the brink of losing three in a row. A brilliant spell by the returning Kuldeep Yadav and a memorable debut performance by Jake Fraser-McGurk helped DC claim the points.
"I think little relief as we wanted a win badly. We wanted to think like champions. Things don't always go your way but you have to keep fighting hard. There have been phases where we haven't been up to the mark as a bowling group and some individuals have to step up," Pant said.
"At the same time, something's you can control and some things you can't. I think mostly it's close together but with some many injuries it's difficult to get backup players but we won't be making excuses," the DC skipper said during the post-match presentation."
DC are next scheduled to take on the Gujarat Titans (GT) on Wednesday, April 17.