Ankush Jaiswal (Mumbai cricketer)
Do frequent appeals tend to go against the bowler?
If it is a rebellious appeal, it always goes against the bowler. Genuine appeals won’t affect an umpire’s decision. But many players appeal frivolously and think that it’s going to win them a decision. It doesn’t and sometimes it can go against the bowler. This happened in a Ranji Trophy match once. I won’t mention who was involved, but it was this team’s policy to shout for everything, even if the ball missed the bat by four inches. Suddenly, a low catch was taken in the slips. I was at the bowler’s end. I looked at my colleague at square leg and he said ‘not out’. At dinner that night, one of the players came up to me and said that he had taken that catch cleanly. I told him that the credibility of his team was zero because of their unnecessary appealing, sometimes even for bump-ball catches.
Rajeev Yogi (BCCI Level 1 umpire)
Can you tell us about the latest changes in the laws that come into effect from October 2022?
There are three or four significant changes. One is if the ball has been hit for a catch, the batsmen cannot crossover if the catch has been completed. So, the non-striker will have to return to his end while the new batsman will take strike. They can crossover if the catch is dropped. Then, we have found recently that with the advent of T20 cricket, the batsman tends to go anywhere to take strike. In 2011, while [Pakistan pacer] Shoaib Akhtar was bowling a free-hit delivery, the batsman had no need to protect his stumps, so he went around five feet behind the stumps to play the ball and hit a boundary. Now, suppose the wicketkeeper was standing up, there would have been a serious clash between the two. The new law says that a batsman’s area of play is restricted to the pitch only. If he plays a stroke with his body out of the pitch area, it will be called a dead ball.
Amogh Sahastrabuddhe (Aspiring umpire)
Can a wicketkeeper dislodge the bails with any part of his arm?
If you have the ball in your hand, you can use your whole arm, right up to the shoulder, to break the stumps. It is not just restricted to the wrist. A lot of people and even players don’t know this. During an India v South Africa ODI at Kochi in 2000, I was at square leg and when the batsman, Sunil Joshi, missed the ball, the wicketkeeper got it and accidentally hit the wicket with his elbow. He then again dislodged the stumps. Now, my impression was that when he first hit the wicket, Sunil was outside the crease, but when he hit the wicket again, Sunil was in. I referred it to the third umpire and it was given out. While leaving, Sunil said to me: ‘Sir, he hit the wicket with his elbow’. I told him if you were outside the crease at that time, that’s out. The next batsman, Ajay Jadeja, came in and having seen the TV replays, he also told me that the stumps had been dislodged by the elbow. Later, I learnt that commentator Tony Greig said things like ‘how can that be out?’ and ‘what has the third umpire done?’, etc. Ian Chappell, who was his colleague, simply said, ‘According to me, he is out’. But Greig brought in two commentators [from the Hindi panel], who were qualified BCCI umpires. These two came on air and said that it’s not out. Across my entire umpiring career, if you ask me how many truly knowledgeable players I’ve known, I’ll stop at four. Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Arun Lal understand the laws of the game extremely well; the late Ashok Mankad too.’
Asgar Hasan (Aspiring umpire)
If a batsman deliberately pads the ball, the ball touches the bat and a catch is taken, he is given out. But runs are not allowed for deliberate padding. Why?
No runs will be allowed for deliberate padding if the ball goes for a four after touching the bat. But if a batsman is caught, he will be given out. The basic principle is that the batsman has to suffer the ill effects of his action and he cannot benefit from it because he has not tried to play the ball.
Ajay Mayure (Aspiring umpire)
How do you deal with a batsman who is not satisfied with a LBW call?
If the bat is very close to the ball, an umpire can miss it, so we can give him [batsman] some leverage. But if it’s about where the ball is heading, the umpire is in a better position. I’m sure the batsman wouldn’t know enough about where the ball is going. So, as an umpire, you don’t react. Nowadays, umpires are protected and players cannot show dissent. The match referee can take action. So, if you think you have given the right decision, be firm.
Ashutosh Kudalkar (One of the youngest to pass the umpiring exam in 1990)
In a domestic match in the late 1980s, you once stood up to a big team with some top players and awarded the match to the opponent. Did you fear for your career?
Such situations are difficult, but I never thought about how it could harm my career. In this case, one player refused to leave the field despite being sent off by me and insisted that the whole team would walk off. The team manager told me: ‘MR, do you think what you are doing is right because you know very well that this won’t end here’. I said: ‘Yes, I know. We have ordered him off the field for a reason. He has to go.’ Then he asked me what would happen if they don’t leave the field. I said that the other side can then appeal and I will award the match to them. And that’s what happened! You can’t be looking at your future prospects. There were nearly 500 people at the Wankhede Stadium that day and had I not made that call, it would have shown umpires in poor light. However, today I’m very happy to say that both, the team manager and the player concerned, are good friends of mine.
