We can attribute it to some post-lockdown rustiness – here are the five most controversial umpiring decision from IPL 2020.

We’re at the end of IPL 2020, another tournament filled with high-octane action, and its fair share of controversy too. As always, this edition of the tournament included a few debatable umpiring decisions, some of them involving the ever-contentious DRS system.

As always, the Twitterati were quick to latch onto any slip-ups – screenshots and TV grabs of umpires having a bad day at the office were shared multiple times during the tournament.

Here, we revisit the more interesting umpiring slip-ups of IPL 2020.

Dhoni seemingly influences umpiring decision

MS Dhoni is a skilled user of the DRS system, but it went a tad too far when he appeared to influence an on-field decision in one of Chennai Super Kings’ games, combining with bowler Shardul Thakur to protest against the umpire, and forcing him to pull out midway through a wide signal.

The incident took place in the penultimate over of the CSK-SRH match – Thakur hurled a delivery just wide of the guiding line, and the umpire, Paul Reiffel, was seen slowly gesturing for an extra when Dhoni’s angry expressions seemed to dissuade him out from his action midway. The commentators were bewildered, as was the opposing captain, David Warner, in the dugout.

“I’m almost dead certain that I saw his (Reiffel) arms start to go out,” said Kevin Pietersen, the on-air commentator. “And there was a lot of shouting and screaming at him, and he sort of stopped his decision.”

Tom Curran’s controversial reprieve

Another incident involving the Super Kings. This time, it was Rajasthan Royals’ Tom Curran at the centre of the controversy, given out by the umpire after a delivery rapped him on the pads and ended in MS Dhoni’s gloves, seemingly off an inside edge. With no reviews remaining, Curran couldn’t go for a second consultation.

As Curran started walking back, miffed at the decision, the umpires, having seen the replays on the big screen, decided to consult the third umpire of their own accord. Another look at the dismissal showed that the ball had bounced before reaching the keeper, and the decision was reversed. Dhoni wasn’t happy, but the right call had been made in the end.

One-short hurts Punjab

Hindsight is a great gift, but if this particular decision had gone Kings XI Punjab’s way, their campaign could have taken a different road. It happened in the penultimate over of their chase against Delhi Capitals, with Mayank Agarwal closing in on the target with Chris Jordan for company. Called for a second run, Jordan was ruled to have not grounded his bat properly at the non-striker’s end, and one run was shaved off Punjab’s total.

This was called ‘one short’. Thoughts? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/EOtoZWAD1W

— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) September 20, 2020

However, replays showed that the call wasn’t straightforward, and it appeared that Jordan had completed a clean run, which should have been credited to Punjab’s account. They made a meal of the rest of the chase, with the game going to a super over despite KXIP needing one off three balls at one stage. In the end, they fell one win short of reaching the playoffs.

Two reviews, one delivery, one dismissal

Mujeeb Ur Rahman had little role to play in Kings XI Punjab’s topsy-turvy IPL 2020 season, but he was at the centre of a bizarre decision in the early half of the competition. Batting in Punjab’s floundering chase against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mujeeb tapped a full delivery outside off, which went straight to the wicketkeeper, who appealed for a caught behind.

The umpire initially dismissed the fielding team’s appeal, but after skipper David Warner decided against employing DRS, the on-field umpires themselves took the decision upstairs, the soft signal being ‘not out’ because of a perceived bump ball. With the possibility of the ball having bounced ruled out, Mujeeb was sent on his way, with umpire’s reviews having no recourse to using UltraEdge.

Moments later, Mujeeb, who was walking back and possibly got a message from the team dugout, himself decided to use his team’s review, calling the third umpire into action yet again. It was like an Uno card move, one after another. It didn’t help though – UltraEdge showed that there was bat involved, and Mujeeb was declared out, again.

Umpire seemingly influences non-review

If MS Dhoni managed to influence an on-field call, it was Anil Chaudhary, the on-field umpire in the SRH-DC league stage game, who seemingly prevented one from going upstairs.

The incident occurred when a delivery from Sandeep Sharma pinged into the pads of batsman Ravichandran Ashwin – the bowling team went up in appeal, but the umpire turned it down. Right after, he inadvertently tapped his knuckles, signifying that there was an inside-edge involved. It seemed to be a harmless signal, but it was enough to ensure that David Warner didn’t waste a review.

“Watch the umpire here, tapping his hand, which is the universal umpire’s signal for the ball hitting the bat,” Brett Lee, the commentator said, on air. “It basically says to the fielding side, the bowler – ‘I believe he’s hit it, so there’s no point reviewing’. You still have your right to review, of course, but you’re not going to.”

It had little impact on the game though – DC were already struggling in their pursuit of SRH’s score, and ended way short.