Picture Credit: Twitter
The former captain of South Africa, Graeme Smith, has called out Harbhajan Singh for stating that “bad umpiring and bad rules” were the reason for Pakistan suffering a one wicket defeat against the Proteas in the ODI World Cup 2023. On Friday, October 27, the umpires were in firm focus right throughout the pulsating contest, which the Men in Green were desperate to win, to stay in contention for the semi-final spot.
In the final moments of the 271 run-chase for South Africa against Pakistan, Haris Rauf had trapped the No. 11 Tabraiz Shamsi on his pads, but the on-field umpire didn’t give him out. The captain of the Men in Green, Babar Azam sent the decision upstairs for a DRS, but technology showed that “umpire’s call” was correct, which led to Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj managing to take the Proteas over the finishing line.
After the conclusion of the ODI World Cup 2023 match, Harbhajan Singh took to his official X account, and said that Pakistan lost due to bad umpiring, while asking ICC to change the “umpire’s call” rule. His tweet read, “Bad umpiring and bad rules cost Pakistan this game.. @ICC should change this rule .. if the ball is hitting the stump that’s out whether umpire gave out or not out doesn’t matter.. otherwise what is the use of technology??? @TheRealPCB vs #SouthAfrica #worldcup”.
Graeme Smith agreed with Harbhajan Singh on his stance against the “umpire’s call,” but at the same time, he called out Harbhajan Singh for overlooking the dismissal of Rassie van der Dussen in the same manner earlier in the South Africa innings. His response to the post on X, read, “Bhajji, @harbhajan_singh I feel the same as you on umpires call, but @Rassie72 and South Africa can have the same feeling.?”
Notably, the “umpire’s call” rule has been introduced in cricket, keeping in mind the margin of error in the ball tracking technology. If the on-field umpire makes a call for LBW in favour of one team, then the other team needs more than 50% of the ball to be pitching in line, impact in line, and hitting the stumps, for the decision to be overturned, otherwise the “umpire’s call” will stand.
