Jammu and Kashmir captain Paras Dogra expressed his frustration with the standard of umpiring during their Ranji Trophy match against the defending champions Mumbai. He hoped that the match officials would be “a bit more attentive” in the future.
Dogra, a veteran of 140 first-class games who is playing his last season in domestic cricket, lamented that poor umpiring “has been going on for years now.”
On the second day of the match, ICC elite panel discard Sundaram Ravi failed to hear a loud nick off Shreyas Iyer‘s edge, which was audible to everyone and later confirmed by replays.
He initially declared Mumbai skipper Ajinkya Rahane caught behind, and the batter had already crossed the boundary ropes when he was called back. Ravi deemed Umar Nazir’s delivery a no-ball, but this time, no replay was available to confirm his decision.
“What to say. This has been going on for years and there’s nothing much that we can do about it. Umpires are human after all and can make mistakes. But had they been a bit more attentive, it would have been fun,” Dogra, a former Himachal Pradesh legend, told reporters after the end of day’s play.
“But it’s part and parcel of the game. That’s why they got DRS. It would have been a good experience to have DRS here, but we can’t control it since there are 10-15 games happening simultaneously. So, it does not make any difference.
Despite struggling at 101 for 7 in their second innings, Mumbai managed to extend their lead to 188 runs by the end of the second day’s play, thanks to an unbeaten century (113 not out) by Shardul Thakur.
Dogra praised Thakur’s effort, stating, “Shardul played really well. The ball stopped moving, so that had an impact. That’s when we tried doing something different and tried out bouncers, which did not work. It was one of the best innings (in domestic cricket) that I have seen.”
The J&K skipper believes that if the target stays within the 250-run mark, they have a chance to win the match.
“You have to be patient. Still the wicket is playing out well, they are 188 runs ahead. We will have to bat well and I am hopeful. We scored 200 in the last innings and the wicket is getting better, so there’s hope,” he said.
