Virat Kohli’s no-ball debate has left the cricket world divided. The likes of Irfan Pathan, Aakash Chopra, Harshal Bhogle etc. have supported the umpire’s official call to give out Kolkata Knight Riders fast bowler Harshit Rana. However, there are those like Navjot Singh Sidhu, who do not feel that the umpires have taken the right decision by giving out the Royal Challengers Bangalore legend. In a long video on social media, Sidhu tried to explain the factors that should be taken into account before taking such decisions by umpires on the field.
Firstly, Sidhu said that Kohli’s dismissal was not only disappointing for him as a batsman but also disappointing for RCB, who could have emerged victorious if the decision had gone in favor of the batting side.
“When you have made a rule by bringing in the 6-inch height-based ideology, have you given an allowance of 7 inches to the batsman? That is number one,” Sidhu said while making his first point.
In the second point, the former India all-rounder wanted to point out how the umpires ‘legitimized’ the use of beamers in the game by deeming Harshit Rana’s delivery to Virat Kohli ‘fair’.
“No. 2, the biggest point. You legalized the beamer. In my 30 years of playing and watching cricket, if a bowler misses a yorker and bowls a waist-high ball, the batsman is stunned and the bowler is forgiven. “If a batsman comes out on the field tomorrow and the ball hits his head, will you not even apologize for legalizing the beamer?”, he insisted.
The law should be changed for the better…@imVkohli @IPL pic.twitter.com/cQIWaSxIfc
— Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) 21 April 2024
In his third and final point, Sidhu questioned the technology which suggests that the ball would have seen a heavy fall by the time it reached the popping crease. Sidhu did not agree with the trajectory shown on screen.
“At the point of impact, the ball is at least one and a half feet above the waist. And the batsman is six inches out of the crease. Do you want to say that the ball will fall six feet and a half in the remaining six inches? Benefit of the doubt Batsman Should get. Laws are always made for the better. Kohli should have got the benefit of the doubt, he was not out.”
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