Suryakumar’s withdrawn appeal sparks outrage among pundits after Junaid Siddique was caught napping out of his ground.
Suryakumar”s withdrawal of run-out appeal against Siddique sparks debate in the aftermath.
On Wednesday night in Dubai, India’s skipper, Suryakumar Yadav, retracted his appeal against Junaid Siddique, even though the third umpire had declared the batsman out.
What actually happened
The event happened during the UAE innings’ thirteenth over. When wicketkeeper Sanju Samson caught the ball and under-armed a direct hit to the stumps at the striker’s end, Siddique was found outside the crease after being battered while trying to pull off Shivam Dube. Siddique seemed to gesture towards the towel that Dube seemed to have dropped during the ball delivery as soon as he missed it.
Suryakumar approached the bowler’s end umpire to speak with him while the square-leg umpire was sending the verdict to third umpire Ruchira Palliyaguruge. After seeing the replays on the large screen, he retracted his appeal. By then, Siddique had been ruled out by the third umpire.
After he toe-ended a slog off a slower delivery from Dube to Suryakumar at mid-on, Siddique was out one legal ball later, leaving the UAE at 55 for 9. It was Dube’s third wicket; India eventually overtook the UAE in 4.3 overs after they were bowled out for 57.
The outrage
According to Aakash Chopra, Suryakumar’s choice was influenced by the match circumstances at the moment, which were overwhelmingly in India’s favour.
“It’s event-specific in my opinion, it wouldn’t have happened if [Pakistan’s] Salman Agha was playing on 14th [of September] and the game is in the balance, and he’s just roaming around, he [Suryakumar] won’t do that,” Chopra said. “It was a good throw, presence of mind from Sanju to hit the stumps.
“If he was [outside the crease], it should be out, in my opinion. But opinions may vary. The problem is the moment you bring in ethics and generosity, it opens a can of worms: ‘oh, you did this today, why are you not doing the same thing tomorrow?’ Why go down that route?
“Will you do it? If that’s the case, it’s like walking. You nick it and you walk. But the day you do not walk, that’s the day that decides which side of the divide you are on and that’s when you look like a hypocrite. I’m not saying SKY is going to do it again, or not do it again. But if it is within the rules and the umpire has given it out, just stay out. That’s it.”