Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori, analysing the contentious decision to give Virat Kohli lbw in the second India-New Zealand Test, has suggested that the match referee should assist the third umpire for close umpiring calls.

Vettori felt that the India skipper had got an “obvious” inside edge before the ball struck the pad. The veteran of 113 Tests and 295 ODIs suggested that the third umpire could do with a bit of help, especially when having to deal with such crucial decisions.

“A point that needs to be discussed is that there needs to be some assistance for the third umpire because for me, it seems obvious that there was an inside edge, albeit it was very close,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “But for one man to sit there and try to make a decision – such a crucial decision…

“Maybe the match referee can step in and say, ‘Do you think you’ve got that right?’ Whatever it is, we’ve seen it happen so many times – the third umpire gets it wrong and there is no way to pull it back from the edge,” Vettori said.

Wasim Jaffer, who was also part of the discussion, said that it was disappointing that the third umpire arrived at such a conclusion, despite having the luxury of watching countless replays.

“I can understand the on-field umpire making a mistake. That can happen. But the third umpire making so many mistakes, even after seeing so many replays, is disappointing. Virender Sharma had a very poor first Test and that form continues for him as well,” Jaffer added.

The decision continues to provoke disagreement, with Shane Warne and Simon Doull in a back and forth on Twitter over the controversy. The series has seen several debated umpiring decisions, with the officials coming under the scanner for not allowing Will Young to take an innings-saving lbw review, despite seemingly not giving the batter a five-second warning, in the first Test.