IN a much-hyped match of the T-20 World Cup played on Sunday in front of jam packed iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, the controversial decision of ground umpires handed the victory to India, much to the desperation of Pakistani fans.
With thirteen runs required off three balls, Virat Kohli smashed a six off Mohammad Nawaz over deep mid-wicket on a full toss ball which was not waist high but still it was declared a no ball by the umpires when the batter asked for it — something which has raised serious eyebrows.
It is not only us but many former cricketers are also raising question on the no ball decision which in fact changed the whole result of such an important match.
They are of the view that the ground umpires should have consulted third umpire. Indeed this is the era of technology which is being in the game of cricket also to bring more transparency and ensure the decisions are flawless.
The very aim of introducing technology was to reduce the chances of human error from negatively impacting the outcomes of games.
Though India emerged as the winner, but this match will go down in the history of cricket as the most controversial one, and the fans will never forget it like the final of 2019 between New Zealand and England, where misinterpretation of rules by umpires favoured the latter.
Cricket is a dignified game which should not be polluted or bastardized for the benefit of big financer in blatant disregard of crystal clear rules.
In addition, there should also be some accountability of the umpires if we really do not want to demote the image of this popular game.
Though the result of the match cannot be changed now, yet our top management in Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should raise the matter forcefully at the level of ICC in order to avert such occurrences in future.
The way our team played in the high pressure match is really commendable and we expect that they will continue to deliver better to come back with the World Cup trophy.
