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Umpire Daryl Harper tells MS Dhoni to follow Brendon McCullum's example in sportsmanship

Daryl Harper and MS Dhoni have never been very good friends

MS Dhoni had joked about umpires using earpieces in the press conference after India’s win over Pakistan in the Asia Cup, and retired Australian umpire Daryl Harper has come down hard on his comments. He has said with a lot of bitterness that Dhoni should respect the umpire’s decision more, and that he could take a leaf out of Brendon McCullum’s book in doing so, reports The Asian Age.

Dhoni had been talking about how modern day umpires are impaired by their use of earpieces and walkie-talkies, and how they were listening to on-field noises with only one ear.

The 64-year-old retired umpire said, “Obviously having two unimpeded ears to use would be preferable to having only one, but is this a case of calling for action when one bad decision goes against M.S. Dhoni?”

In the India-Pakistan match, Pakistani batsman Khurram Manzoor was let off after he got a bit of glove and bat handle to a delivery in the fifth over by Ashish Nehra to go past to the keeper. The Indian players appealed,but the umpire had failed to spot the nick, and Nehra was distraught.

In the Indian innings too, Virat Kohli was adjudged out lbw even after he had got an inside edge off his bat before the pad, another touch the umpire had failed to see or hear. Dhoni was in a happy mood after his team’s victory, and joked about the errors.

He had said, “I don't want to get banned before the World T20. The umpiring, you've all seen it yourself. The umpires have an ear piece and Walkie-talkie. Effectively they are umpiring with just one ear.”

A history of dispute between Dhoni and Harper

Harper also mentioned the DRS, the controversial technology the India captain is also not very inclined towards. 

“Has he heard about the Decision Review System where a captain can request a review of a disputed decision and the third umpire is utilised to resolve the situation using replays, stump microphones and all forms of technology that will produce the correct result far more often than not?” asked Harper.

“If he’s not happy, I would urge MS to adopt the practice that Brendon McCullum has developed very successfully during his tenure as New Zealand’s captain.

“The Kiwis would have appealed and accepted the umpire’s decision in the time honoured tradition of cricket, whether they were happy with the decision or not,” Harper added.

The cause of bitterness in Harper can be pinned down to the circumstances surrounding his retirement. He had been pushed into retirement after the 2011 Test series between West Indies and India, where the Indian players had heavily criticised his decisions. He had officiated in 94 Tests and 174 ODIs. He also had the distinction of being one of the ten umpires who comprised the first ever ICC Elite Panel of Umpires in 2002.

In the 1st Test of the West Indies-India series, Dhoni had walked up to Harper after a decision and had told him, “We've had problems with you before, Daryl.” After the match, he had said, "If the correct decisions were made, the game would have finished much earlier and I would have been in the hotel by now."

Harper had then criticised Dhoni’s comments and had asked ICC to punish him for his contempt of the umpire, but no action had been taken then. He had also complained that Dhoni had been trying to intimidate him. It seems the grudge lives on.

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