Former India batter Navjot Sidhu has offered his two cents on the Virat Kohli no-ball controversy that hit the IPL 2024 last evening during the game between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders. Kohli was out to a waist-high full toss by KKR pacer Harshit Rana, leaving the RCB batter absolutely furious. Kohli, the RCB unit and his gazillion fans, felt he was not out because the ball was above waist high at the point of contact; however, the umpires and the broadcaster declared him out because Kohli was outside his crease and the trajectory of the ball would have caught him below his waist had he not moved outside.
Sidhu, however, is not convinced with this law, and called out the MCC through three very hard-hitting points. Sidhu, attempting to serve ‘justice’, first questioned the law-makers for denying a batter the same relaxation as a bowler regarding the rule of height, and then pointed fingers at the MCC for unofficially allowing the use of beamers.
“Friends. Justice means the truth must come out. I am here not just for Virat Kohli but for RCB too. When you’ve made a rule by bringing a 6-inch height-based ideology, did you give the batter a 7-inch allowance?” Sidhu asked.
“That is number one. Number 2, the biggest point. You legalised a beamer. During my 30 years of playing and watching cricket, if a bowler missed a yorker and bowled a waist-high delivery, the batter would be left bamboozled and the bowler would apologise. If tomorrow a batter steps out and the ball is targetted on his head, won’t you even apologise for legalising a beamer?”
Virat Kohli deserved benefit of the doubt, insists Sidhu
Kohli’s dismissal became the cynosure of all eyes. He was not pleased with the decision at all, hurling a mouthful at the umpires and even smashing a dustbin on his way back to the dugout. Kohli was later seen getting into a discussion with the officials after the match, which prompted reactions from several former cricketers and even Star Sports – the official TV broadcaster of the IPL 2024 – to come up with their own takes on the controversy.
Lastly, Sidhu, the former India batter-turned-broadcaster, sounded apprehensive about the use of technology, as per which, the ball would have found Kohli at or below his waist had he not been batting inside the crease. Sidhu urged the decision makers to have a hard look at the law and reiterated that in this case, the benefit of the doubt should have belonged to Kohli.
“Thirdly, at the point of impact, at the point of impact, the ball is at least a foot and a half above waist. And the batter is six inches outside the crease. Do you mean to say that the ball will dip 6 a foot and a half in the remaining six inches? Benefit of the doubt must go to the batter. Laws always change for the better. Laws are made to better the game. Change is not necessarily progress. This law needs to be carefully monitored, and amended. Kohli should have gotten the benefit of the doubt. He was not out,” he pointed out.
RCB eventually lost to KKR in a one-run thriller, which means the defeat – their seventh of the season – keep them at the bottom of the standings in the points table with 2 points after 8 matches.
