I don't know why there can't be an "I don't know" call for the umpires: Virat Kohli

Tags: England tour of India 2021, Royal Challengers Bangalore v Rajasthan Royals at Bangalore - Mar 18, 2010, England, India

Published on: Mar 19, 2021

Scorecard | Commentary | Graphs

Indian captain Virat Kohli questioned the logic of ‘soft signal’ given by the on-field umpire to the third umpire after two controversial decisions in the fourth T20I between India and England. Suryakumar Yadav’s debut innings in international cricket ended on 57 after he was ruled caught even though replays hinted the fielder Dawid Malan had not taken the catch cleanly.

Towards the end of India’s innings, Washington Sundar uppercut one straight to Adil Rashid at the boundary. While the catch was taken cleanly, one was not sure whether or not his foot was touching the ropes. Again, he was declared out based on the soft signal.

Questioning the logic of the rule at the post-match presentation, Kohli said, “There was an instance in the Test series when Jinx (Ajinkya Rahane) caught the ball and wasn't sure. When there's a half-and-half effort, the soft signal becomes more important. I don't know why there can't be an "I don't know" call for the umpires. You want these things ironed out to keep the game linear. But we want clarity on the field.”

On the win itself, Kohli said it was a tough game against a top side and that the dew was a massive factor. “A few instances in the middle were strange, but 180-plus was what we were looking at, and a special mention to SKY. The Guys in our squad are confident heading into the IPL. Shardul turned it around but our Powerplay kept them in check," Kohli added.

Explaining why he did not take the field towards the end of England’s innings, Kohli revealed, "I ran for the ball, and aggravated my upper quad a little bit, Nothing serious, I should be fine for the game in a day and a half. Better than sprinting for five or six overs, because we have an important game coming up."

The Indian captain also praised Suryakumar Yadav for his brilliant knock, which set up the win for India. "It's not easy to walk in at three and start like that, we were stunned by that start [from SKY], he stamped his authority, big credit to these youngsters, coming in and grabbing the opportunities, you set your standards high, and Hardik bowling his four overs in the way that he did augurs very well," Kohli said.

The decider of the five-match series will be played on Saturday.

--By A Cricket Correspondent

Related News