Follow UsKumar Dharmasena was under the scanner, on day one of the fifth Test at The Oval, on July 31 (Thursday), for a gesture that he made on the field. The incident occurred in the 13th over of the Indian innings, when Sai Sudharsan was hit on the pads by a Josh Tongue delivery.
While England long contemplated the review, Dharmasena’s gesture of ‘inside-edge’ ultimately led to the Three Lions’ skipper, Ollie Pope, not taking the review. In the aftermath of this particular incident, Dharmasena has received a lot of flak from Indian fans, including former Indian batter Sanjay Bangar.
“These habits don’t go away easily for umpires because it’s second nature to them. Whenever there is an appeal, you try to say it. Because when Dharmasena had started his umpiring career, there was no DRS then,” Bangar told Star Sports.
“But now, you are not supposed to give a signal on what’s going on in your mind. Or else, the bowler and the bowling team get a sort of a hint on what’s going on in the umpire’s mind. The umpire should not have done that,” he added.
However, as it turned out, Sudharsan was eventually dismissed off a Tongue delivery later on in the innings, after the left-hander had made 38. The match hangs in a fine balance on day one, after Karun Nair’s gritty half-century helped India to get to 204/6.