Should he have or should he have not? Suryakumar Yadav’s generosity hasn’t met with universal acclaim after the India T20I captain withdrew an appeal against Junaid Siddique despite the third umpire ruling
the UAE batter out in an Asia Cup match earlier this week.
The incident happened during the 13th over of UAE innings when Siddique missed a pull shot off Shivam Dube and forgot to get back into the crease as wicketkeeper Sanju Samson spotted it and hit the stumps with an underarm throw. The square leg umpire referred the decision to his TV counterpart who adjudged it as out.
Meanwhile, Siddique had already signalled he was distracted after Dube dropped a towel while bowling. Suryakumar had a brief chat with the on-field umpire and upon watching the replay on the giant screen, withdrew the appeal.
Siddique though was out in the same over for a three-ball duck.
India batter Ajinkya Rahane has lauded Indian team for their sportsman’s spirit.
“It was a great call by Team India and captain Surya because Junaid was not looking for a run. I guess he was not aware of where the crease was,” Rahane said on his YouTube channel. “As a wicketkeeper or a fielder, when you get the ball in hand, your instinct is to aim at the stumps. But it was the right call made by Team India. They have shown great character and very good sportsman’s spirit. That’s what you want to see in cricket – you play hard, but you play fair.”
While Rahane may have been full of praise for Suryakumar, but Aakash Chopra felt this would not have happened if the beneficiary was Pakistan captain Salman Agha.
“It’s event-specific in my opinion, it wouldn’t have happened if (Pakistan’s) Salman Agha was playing on 14th (of September) and the game is in the balance, and he’s just roaming around, he (Suryakumar) won’t do that. It was a good throw, presence of mind from Sanju to hit the stumps,” Chopra said on ESPNcricinfo.
“If he was (outside the crease), it should be out, in my opinion. But opinions may vary. The problem is the moment you bring in ethics and generosity, it opens a can of worms: ‘oh, you did this today, why are you not doing the same thing tomorrow?’ Why go down that route?” he added.
