CHENNAI: Ulhas Gandhe was not the first umpire to invite MS Dhoni’s ire with his on-field decision. That has happened in the past as well, albeit with a twist.
Dhoni, unlike when he rushed out of the dug-out on Thursday to protest a no-ball call, had patted umpire Sudhir Asnani on the back in 2013 for making the right call.
Asnani, who has officiated in 23 ODIs (10 as on-field umpire and 13 as TV umpire), 4 T20Is and 5 Tests (TV umpire), had adjudged England’s Kevin Pietersen not out during an ODI in Mohali.
“Ishant Sharma’s ball thudded low on Pietersen’s pads and all players in the inner circle appealed. I turned it down as I thought that the ball pitched slightly outside off-stump. DRS was not in play those days, and my decision disappointed every Indian player, including the skipper.”
In fact, Dhoni approached Asnani to ask his logic behind that decision. “I told him what I felt. ‘No chance’, he murmured and walked away. His disagreement made me nervous. Even Pietersen told me that he felt lucky, as he thought he was out.”
Feeling guilty, Asnani’s struggle continued till a drinks break, when TV umpire Anil Chaudhary came to the field.
“Chaudhary told me everyone in the commentary box, including Sunil Gavaskar, was praising me.
It was a kind of redemption but I was still in doubt. The same time, I saw Dhoni speaking to the support staff, and the topic of discussion was probably my decision.
It made me more nervous. That soon dissipated as Dhoni came to me and patted me on my back.
He said, ‘One plus, Sudhir’. I have never seen a player praising an umpire for an on-field decision that went against his team.”
So what has changed between that day in 2013 and Thursday’s match.
“He might have done that in the heat of the moment. No matter what, he shouldn’t have walked onto the field. It was wrong, especially from a player of Dhoni’s stature,” said Asnani, who last officiated in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in March.
Asnani, however, said that a fine of 50 per cent of match fee was adequate, and that a ban would’ve been too much given Dhoni’s past records.
