IPL 2017 | In Sandeep's No Ball fiasco, umpire deserves pat on the back

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is not without its share of on-field player bursts. In the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) vs Gujarat Lions (GL) match in Mohali on Sunday night, the hosts' medium-pacer Sandeep Sharma was not in the best of his behaviour.

No, he did not get into a spat with a fielder like the more infamous Kieron Pollard-Mitchell Starc or the Virat Kohli-Gautam Gambhir fights in the past editions. But what the 23-year-old right-armer from Punjab did was equally distasteful.

In the fifth ball of the GL innings’ fifth over, Sharma bowled round the wicket without the knowledge of the umpire Nanda Kishore. In a scene not seen in any form of representative cricket before, Sharma bowled in between the umpire and the non-striker Dwayne Smith, who was at his customary position as if the bowler was bowling over the wicket.

Umpire Kishore was within rules to signal No Ball, much to the disbelief of Sharma and his captain Glenn Maxwell. Law 24 on No Ball states that “The umpire shall ascertain whether the bowler intends to bowl right handed or left handed, over or round the wicket, and shall so inform the striker. It is unfair if the bowler fails to notify the umpire of a change in his mode of delivery. In this case the umpire shall call and signal No Ball.”

Sharma may have argued with Kishore that he did notify him about changing from over the wicket to round. Perhaps, he may have said in a tone that may have been lost in the noisy stadium and not entered Kishore’s ears. It is mandatory for the bowler to ensure that the umpire is clearly informed about the change in guard.

But what was not pleasing to the global television audience was Sharma snatching away his cap from Kishore’s left hand at the end of the over even as the right hand was busy signalling four that Smith had placed on the off-side.

The arguments between Maxwell and the umpires ensued, with the former going on to tell TV commentator and fellow Australian Matthew Hayden: "Unfortunately the umpire forgot to tell the batsman to move to the other side”.

Why would Kishore forget to inform the batsman if he had been informed clearly about the bowling guard? Kishore deserved a pat on the back for his alertness and immediate signal of No Ball. This was one of the bright umpiring decisions seen this IPL, which has had its share of mediocre rulings on a frequent basis.

Maxwell, as captain, was well within his right to stand for his player even though the player may have been at fault. But to go on and create a scene as if the world had come down did not do good for the team. The end result was the KXIP losing their way, going down in their defence and making their spot in the play-offs that much more difficult.

At the end of it, and rightly so, Sharma was pulled up for his dissent on umpire’s decision and docked 50 per cent of his match fee by match referee Javagal Srinath.