IPL's howler brigade

The great Dickie Bird celebrated his 84th birthday earlier this week. Even after all these years, Bird is still the most recognisable on-field cricket official in the history of the sport. Such was the veneration he enjoyed that when he decided to call it quits in 1996, he received a guard of honour from India and England in his final Test match at Lord’s, an exceptional piece of recognition mostly not reserved for umpires, and perhaps only matched since by the affection bestowed upon Rudi ‘Slow Death’ Koertzen when he hung up his boots in 2010.
 
In a 2014 interview, Bird spoke about how “all the authority has been taken away from the umpire and it’s like umpiring is done by a machine now”. Bird’s supposedly platitudinous argument obviously has some merit. Yet, there is a bizarre paradox to it. Technology has now become an ineradicable part of cricket — some are even calling for further augmentation of it. But perhaps its “overuse” is causing a whole different kind of a problem: umpires botching up simple decisions when technology is not even needed, a worrying trend ably displayed by local umpires during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

 
Rohit Sharma’s visage quite often displays a tormented and languid expression that exudes little confidence. At times, it’s almost as unendurable as Andy Murray’s, who scowls during matches in ways so ludicrous that you’re forced to wonder if his mother, Judy, has to actually wheedle him to step out on the tennis court. But unlike Murray, Sharma seldom gets irate. That is, though, only till he’s been wrongly given out LBW. For a more detailed description, ask umpire C K Nandan.
 

Against Kolkata Knight Riders earlier this month, the Mumbai Indians captain was adjudged leg-before against Sunil Narine in an appalling umpiring mishap. After landing a couple of leg breaks, Narine spun one in to Sharma, seemingly trapping the batsman in front. Replays, however, showed that the ball had taken a part of Sharma’s blade before thudding into his pads.

 
Sharma’s dismissal had taken place only a few balls after Jos Buttler was given out LBW to a ball that was clearly spearing down the leg side. The culprit that time was Nandan’s counterpart, Nitin Menon; the beneficiary was the unheralded Ankit Rajpoot. In the end, as two of Mumbai’s premier batsmen fell victim to some atrocious ineptness, it took a Hardik Pandya special to help the home side over the line.
 
With David Warner, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and Suresh Raina all dazzling only sporadically, IPL this season hasn’t been so much about rip-roaring stroke-making than it has been for horrid — sometimes unfathomable — officiating.

 
Owing to IPL’s punishing schedule, most elite umpires have chosen to stay away from the tournament, barring Chris Gaffaney, Marais Erasmus, Nigel Llong, and India’s own S Ravi, who has committed his share of howlers, too.
 
India’s inability to find quality umpires is nothing new. Throughout the domestic season gone by, erratic decision-making was the norm, a problem that left players particularly seething during the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
 
“There are no mentors for umpires; no one who can keep a watch on them. Without that, it’s difficult to produce good umpires,” says K Hariharan, who officiated in two Tests and 34 ODIs and is now a part of Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) umpiring review panel. “We have suggested this change.”

 
Foreign help has been turned away by BCCI in the past. Australian Simon Taufel who was brought in to help Indian umpires was relieved of his services last year. No official reason was given for his departure. “Such mistakes are happening at the highest level. You can imagine how things must be in the domestic circuit. We have to fix that first,” says a former Indian umpire who does not wish to be named.
 
Currently, umpires are chosen through a series of rigorous written examinations recommended by state associations and then BCCI. “There are several written and oral exams. What we need is more practical tests, because eventually you have to be out there on the field,” says another former Indian umpire. According to the current procedure, BCCI nominates a panel of umpires to International Cricket Council (ICC), and they are given an opportunity to stand in limited-overs games. Strong performers then make it to ICC’s elite panel. “Other countries have had some great umpires in the past. We have pretty much none. There is no one to learn from,” adds the umpire.

 
Umpiring embarrassments for India have not been limited to IPL. In January, England skipper Eoin Morgan expressed his displeasure over some of the decisions made by C Shamshuddin during a T20 international in Nagpur, including a crucial LBW call that went against Joe Root and played a telling role in India winning the game by five runs.
 
The overwhelming clamour for the use of the decision review system in all matches across all the three formats is a modern reality that cricket cannot escape for too long. But as long as the attempt to retain the human element in cricket remains intact, no wondrous technological advancement can actually take the place of an official. The Indian umpires, though, are providing a compelling argument to why that might not be such a bad thing after all.