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Home / Sports / Cricket / Photos / Five instances from the past when umpire-captain arguments turned ugly

Five instances from the past when umpire-captain arguments turned ugly

Updated On: 26 July, 2023 03:26 PM IST | Srijanee Majumdar

Harmanpreet Kaur`s conduct during and after the thrilling third ODI between India and Bangladesh continues to hog the limelight for all the wrong reasons. The match ended in a rare tie, leading to the two teams having to share the series trophy. Harmanpreet was left visibly dismayed with the umpire`s decision that resulted in her dismissal during the Indian chase, although she did not clarify in her contentious post-match presentation ceremony comments exactly what calls it is that she didn`t agree with. Mid-day looks at five of the most famous captain-umpire spats in history. (Pic: AFP/Getty Images)

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Harmanpreet Kaur`s conduct during and after the thrilling third ODI between India and Bangladesh continues to hog the limelight for all the wrong reasons. The match ended in a rare tie, leading to the two teams having to share the series trophy. Harmanpreet was left visibly dismayed with the umpire`s decision that resulted in her dismissal during the Indian chase, although she did not clarify in her contentious post-match presentation ceremony comments exactly what calls it is that she didn`t agree with. Mid-day looks at five of the most famous captain-umpire spats in history. (Pic: AFP/Getty Images)

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Harmanpreet Kaur`s conduct during and after the thrilling third ODI between India and Bangladesh continues to hog the limelight for all the wrong reasons. The match ended in a rare tie, leading to the two teams having to share the series trophy. Harmanpreet was left visibly dismayed with the umpire`s decision that resulted in her dismissal during the Indian chase, although she did not clarify in her contentious post-match presentation ceremony comments exactly what calls it is that she didn`t agree with. Mid-day looks at five of the most famous captain-umpire spats in history. (Pic: AFP/Getty Images)

Javed Miandad famously became involved in a heated discussion with the on-field umpire during the third Test between New Zealand and Pakistan in 1985. The series was evenly poised at 1-1 and the Pakistani team needed just two wickets to win the series. Young Pakistani pacer Wasim Akram bowled a bouncer in the penultimate ball of the afternoon session and was warned by the umpire. The Pakistani captain was very upset with this and went up to talk about the issue.

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Javed Miandad famously became involved in a heated discussion with the on-field umpire during the third Test between New Zealand and Pakistan in 1985. The series was evenly poised at 1-1 and the Pakistani team needed just two wickets to win the series. Young Pakistani pacer Wasim Akram bowled a bouncer in the penultimate ball of the afternoon session and was warned by the umpire. The Pakistani captain was very upset with this and went up to talk about the issue.

Ricky Ponting became involved in a prolonged debate with Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar during the second day of the fourth Test at Melbourne between Australia and England. While Ponting was on the verge of his third Ashes series defeat as a captain, his emotions got the better of him. Australia appealed for a caught behind against England batsman Kevin Pietersen but was turned down by the on-field umpire. The Australian captain opted for a referral which was turned down by the third umpire. Ponting continued to argue with the umpires and even went to Pietersen to talk about it before eventually going back to his fielding position.

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Ricky Ponting became involved in a prolonged debate with Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar during the second day of the fourth Test at Melbourne between Australia and England. While Ponting was on the verge of his third Ashes series defeat as a captain, his emotions got the better of him. Australia appealed for a caught behind against England batsman Kevin Pietersen but was turned down by the on-field umpire. The Australian captain opted for a referral which was turned down by the third umpire. Ponting continued to argue with the umpires and even went to Pietersen to talk about it before eventually going back to his fielding position.

Regarded as the ugliest spat in history between a captain and an umpire in the history of cricket, England captain Mike Gatting became involved with one of the ugliest alterations in the history of the game with Pakistani umpire Shakoor Rana. In the second day of the Faisalabad Test, Pakistan were struggling at 106 for the loss of five wickets in response to England’s 292. With three balls to go in the day’s play, the England captain brought David Capel to deep square-leg to prevent a single. According to Gatting, he had informed the batsman about the fielding change but Rana, who was standing at square-leg, stopped the play and accused Gatting of cheating. The Englishman was evidently furious and confronted the equally irritated umpire. 

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Regarded as the ugliest spat in history between a captain and an umpire in the history of cricket, England captain Mike Gatting became involved with one of the ugliest alterations in the history of the game with Pakistani umpire Shakoor Rana. In the second day of the Faisalabad Test, Pakistan were struggling at 106 for the loss of five wickets in response to England’s 292. With three balls to go in the day’s play, the England captain brought David Capel to deep square-leg to prevent a single. According to Gatting, he had informed the batsman about the fielding change but Rana, who was standing at square-leg, stopped the play and accused Gatting of cheating. The Englishman was evidently furious and confronted the equally irritated umpire. 

Kohli cannot be too far away in the list as he became involved in a heated argument with Sri Lankan umpire Kumar Dharmasena during IPL 2015. The 27-year-old cricketer was leading the Royal Challengers Bangalore in a rain-affected match against Sunrisers Hyderabad which was reduced to 11 overs per side. The incident took place during the last over of the Sunrisers’ innings.

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Kohli cannot be too far away in the list as he became involved in a heated argument with Sri Lankan umpire Kumar Dharmasena during IPL 2015. The 27-year-old cricketer was leading the Royal Challengers Bangalore in a rain-affected match against Sunrisers Hyderabad which was reduced to 11 overs per side. The incident took place during the last over of the Sunrisers’ innings.

During an India-Australia ODI match in 2012, India appealed for a stumping against Australia’s Michael Hussey off Suresh Raina’s bowling which was referred to third umpire Bruce Oxenford by the square-leg umpire. The third umpire first declared Hussey out but as he was walking towards the dough out, on-field umpire Billy Bowden called him back. Apparently the third umpire pressed the wrong button but quickly made amends by asking the on-field umpire to call back the batsman, who wasn’t out. Hussey was laughing as he made his return to the crease but the Indian skipper wasn’t too amused by all that confusion and was seen to have a lengthy chat with the umpires.

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During an India-Australia ODI match in 2012, India appealed for a stumping against Australia’s Michael Hussey off Suresh Raina’s bowling which was referred to third umpire Bruce Oxenford by the square-leg umpire. The third umpire first declared Hussey out but as he was walking towards the dough out, on-field umpire Billy Bowden called him back. Apparently the third umpire pressed the wrong button but quickly made amends by asking the on-field umpire to call back the batsman, who wasn’t out. Hussey was laughing as he made his return to the crease but the Indian skipper wasn’t too amused by all that confusion and was seen to have a lengthy chat with the umpires.

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