Rishabh Pant’s decision to call back batters divides netizens

TIL Desk Sports/ Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant was on Friday night criticised on social media for apparently making a gesture to his batters Rovman Powell and Kuldeep Yadav to walk off the pitch because the umpires had refused to seek the opinion of the video official over what they claimed a waist-high no-ball bowled by Rajasthan Royals’ Obed McCoy in the final over of their IPL 2022 clash.

The IPL 2022 match between Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals plunged into controversy on Friday night over a debatable waist-high no-ball that was ruled legal by the umpires but disputed by team from the National Capital.

Television pictures showed Delhi Capitals captain gesturing to Powell and Yadav to walk off the ground in protest, thus forfeiting the match. However better sense prevailed with Capitals’ assistant coach Shane Watson and some other players ensuring that Pant calmed down and that the batters stayed inside the ground.

Chasing a huge target of 223 in 20 overs, Delhi Capitals needed 36 runs from six deliveries with two wickets in hand. Their West Indies hit-man Rovman Powell hammered the first two deliveries — poor full tosses — bowled by Obed McCoy for two sixes and meted out the same treatment to the third delivery, which his partner at the non-striker’s end felt was above the waist and thus a no-ball.