Ranji Trophy 2019-20: Umpire Shamshuddin ruled out of final
In an unfortunate turn of events, Umpire C Shamshuddin won’t take any further part in the ongoing Ranji Trophy final being played between Bengal and Saurashtra. He had a swelling in his lower abdomen after he was hit by a throw from a Bengal fielder. The incident happened during the opening day of the match, forcing him to miss out on the proceedings on Day 2 as his pain aggravated.
In his absence, the other on-field umpire, KN Ananthapadhmanabhan, officiated from both ends for a full session. Since BCCI regulations state that a neutral umpire should be officiating from both ends, Piyush Kakkar, a local umpire who hails from Rajkot, was automatically disqualified from officiating at the other end and stood at square leg during the entirety of that session.
If it was a group match or the initial matches in the knockout stages, S Ravi, who was the third umpire, would have taken the field.
However, with limited DRS in play in the final, Ravi had to wait. He did come on for a brief period after lunch when Shamshuddin took over the role of the third umpire.
While speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, a Saurashtra Cricket Association official gave details on Shamshuddin's injury, saying:
“He didn’t look comfortable taking the field because of pain, so we took him to the hospital and he underwent a medical examination. He was advised a week’s rest, so he will return home.”
Yashwant Barde from Mumbai has been named as the replacement for Shamshuddin and he will assist Ananthapadhmanabhan for the rest of the match.
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Meanwhile, Saurashtra were in complete control of proceedings at the end of Day 2, having reached a total of 384 at the loss of eight wickets at the end of the day's play.
The partnership between Arpit Vasavada and Cheteshwar Pujara defied the Bengal bowlers as both men showed immense concentration to put their team on top.
The Bengal bowlers, meanwhile, bagged some crucial wickets towards the fag end of the final session to stage a mini-comeback.