“Bad Umpiring, Bad Rules” Harbhajan Singh Lashes Out At ICC (image-instagram/harbhajan3)
Pakistan suffered a one wicket loss against South Africa in the ICC World Cup 2023 on Friday. Harbhajan Singh blamed bad umpiring and rules for their defeat against South Africa.
Harbhajan expressed his disappointment on his social media handle X.
“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???,” he wrote on X.
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
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) October 27, 2023
He urged the ICC to change the umpire’s call rule for the betterment of the game.
Pakistan led by captain Babar Azam batted first and managed to score 270 runs in total. Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel were the top scorers as they both have contributed half century to the team’s total. However, South Africa’s Tabraiz Shamsi restricted Pakistan from taking any more runs by taking away four of their wickets in the game. In the 46th over, Haris Rauf had a DRS call which did not go his way while Shamsi survived due to umpire’s call.
However, Harbhajan’s comment on this incident did not go well with the former South African skipper Graeme Smith. He wrote on X, “Bhajji, @harbhajan_singh I feel the same as you on umpires call, but @Rassie72 and South Africa can have the same feeling.”
Bhajji, @harbhajan_singh I feel the same as you on umpires call, but @Rassie72 and South Africa can have the same feeling.? https://t.co/lcTvm8zXD1
— Graeme Smith (@GraemeSmith49) October 27, 2023
Commenting on the issue, Crickey pundit Harsha Bhogle said, “As cameras get better and the projected path more certain, we could reach a day when you can be certain that even if the projected path shows a ball merely clipping the stumps, it would in reality have hit them.”
I suspect it is time to explain “Umpire”s Call” again. After the ball strikes the pad, what you see is a projection of where the ball might have been, it isn”t the actual ball because that has met an obstruction. If more than 50% of the ball is projected to hit the stumps, you…
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 27, 2023
This decision was met with disappointment from the Pakistan side, but Babar Azam was not ready to blame DRS for their loss. Instead, he said that this was part of the game and will try to win in the next three matches.
The win on Friday has taken South Africa to the top of the table with 10 points. But Pakistan will have to chase next few wins if they have to enter to the semi-finals.
