Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant found himself at the centre of a major controversy on April 22 after threatening to ask his players back, feeling angst over a non no-ball call against his team Delhi Capitals.
With 24 required off the last four balls versus Rajasthan Royals, DC’s powerhitter Rovman Powell dispatched a full-toss from Obed McCoy to the deep mid-wicket boundary for another maximum.
But the ball was peerlessly close to the right-hander’s waistline, and that raised contention within the DC camp, especially as the umpires decided not to check for the no-ball. In the heat of the moment, Pant got up from his position in the dugout and gestured as if to ask Powell and his batting partner Kuldeep Yadav back in the shed.
Dismayed at the no-ball not even being checked, Pant sent Pravin Amre, a member of DC’s support staff, to query the umpires why they decided not to, while assistant coach Shane Watson tried to calm the skipper down.
Despite Pant’s best efforts to make his dissent clear, the umpires upheld their original call, and the play resumed with DC needing 18 off the last three balls. McCoy, who had gone for three maximums off the first three deliveries, regained his control and composure after the halt in play and conceded only two more runs for the over to win the game for RR.
However, Pant’s contempt over the umpire’s decision triggered widespread debates and controversy that overshadowed the actual on-field play and DC’s 15-run loss to RR. To give Pant the benefit of the doubt, it’s understandable why the DC captain felt angst at the moment, as a no-ball at that point would’ve eased up the equation just that bit for his team with an extra ball to be bowled.
But what the umpires did was perfectly justified, as the law concerning the waistline no-balls says, they can intervene and ask for the replay only if the batter’s dismissal is in question. In this instance, Powell had dispatched the ball for a maximum.
