The Indian Premier League 2024 is in full swing with over 50 matches done and dusted. The road to the playoffs is still not clear as several contenders are looking to stake their claims for the top-four finish in the league phase.
While the tournament is as fascinating as it can be, some dark spots have been put on the umpiring standards of the season. Cricket pundits have criticised several umpiring decisions in the tournament. Here we discuss five such incidents that have dented the standards of umpiring in IPL 2024.
Virat Kohli's no-ball dismissal
Virat Kohli was left fuming when he was dismissed off a high full-toss that he and his teammates believed was over the waist. The incident occurred in the RCB vs KKR match No.36. Harshit Rana delivered a full toss and Kohli was out of his crease to defend the ball. The umpire took a review, and Kohli was deemed out.
The batter was fuming and several experts believed Kohli was not out. But according to the rules, he was rightly given out.
Travis Head's shocking stumping survival
In a hugely shocking umpiring call, SRH batter Travis Head was deemed not out on a stumping dismissal in the SRH vs RR match No.50. The incident took place in the 15th over of SRH's batting when Head was facing Avesh Khan. The batter shuffled across to chase the ball outside off but he missed it. He lost his balance and the wicketkeeper Sanju Samson threw the ball and seemingly, Head's bat was in the air.
But the umpire gave it not out. Simon Katich on air said, "That bat was in the air surely." The decision also left RR's director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara baffled.
MS Dhoni's wide ball
Another decision which came under scrutiny was a wide ball given in CSK's match against LSG in the tournament. The incident took place when MS Dhoni was batting and LSG's Mohsin Khan was having the bowling duties. Mohsin angled a ball way outside Dhoni. The former CSK skipper stretched his hands to reach out for the ball and the delivery passed under the bat of Dhoni. The umpire gave it a wide.
Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif called out for the dismissal. He connected the wide call to Kohli's wicket on that high full-toss saying that an unplayable beamer was legal and a ball that passed under Dhoni's bat was a wide."Poor umpiring," he termed his post.
Noor Ahmad catch
In another controversial decision given by the umpires, Prithvi Shaw was given out on a catch attempt by Noor Ahmad during GT's clash against Delhi Capitals. The controversy happened during the fourth over of DC's batting. Shaw pulled one shot towards Noor at deep mid-wicket who covered some ground and then made a brilliant diving effort for the catch. The third umpire took a look at the catch and called it to be a legal one.
However, several social media users believed the ball was in contact with the ground when the fielder pouched it.
Shivam Dube wide delivery call
Another wide ball call that drew criticism was the one featuring Shivam Dube and Yash Thakur. The incident took place during CSK's game against LSG. In the 18th over of CSK's batting innings, Yash went for a wide yorker that was called wide by the on-field umpires. KL Rahul was not happy with the call and he went for the review while he also had some words with the umpire and the batter Dube. Upon looking at the delivery, the umpire stayed with the on-field decision of wide.
