'Umpire turned around only after Kohli asked for it': Pakistan legends furious over controversial no-ball in India tie

Legends of Pakistan cricket were furious as the umpire and rather accused that they only made the decision after Kohli had asked for it.

The nail-biting encounter between India and Pakistan at the T20 World Cup on Sunday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground witnessed a moment of controversy in the last over where the Men in Blue required 15 runs to win the match. Mohammad Nawaz bowled a high full toss in the fourth ball of the final over which was dispatched for a six over deep square leg. Virat Kohli immediately protested for a no ball and on-field umpire Marais Erasmus made a late call in favour of the India side. Babar Azam and his men did protest, but the decision stayed. India eventually won the thriller by four wickets, but legends of Pakistan cricket were furious as the umpire and rather accused that they only made the decision after Kohli had asked for it.

Pakistan legends furious over controversial no ball in India tie

Former Pakistan captains Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Malik, during their conversation with A Sports after Pakistan's heartbreaking loss at the MCG, felt that the on-field umpires should have consulted the third umpire for the call.

“The ball seemed to dip but its kind of touch and go. To the naked eye, it did not seem like a no-ball but in slow-motion, it does seem like it dipped … Any batsman will turn and ask for no ball. That’s not his [Kohli]s] fault. Such a big game. You have technology. Use it. Why flare up things unnecessarily?” Akram said.

The legendary pacer also said that had he and Waaqr been part of the World Cup commentary panel they would have surely raised an issue.

“Because we weren’t there. If me or Waqar were there, we would have spoken our mind there and then.”

Waqar, however, felt that the umpire was too late in making the decision and took the call only after Kohli had protested for it.

"When the ball is about waist-high, the square-leg umpire's first reaction is that he takes his hand out, extends his right hand," Younis said. "He is an experienced umpire. That's his natural reaction. But if you look at the replays, (Erasmus) turns around to see the ball. Then after Virat Kohli asked for it..."

"I am not saying and I don't want to say it's a no-ball or not, I don't want to get into that controversy. But the umpire should have called it there and then. It was Virat Kohli's right to ask for the no-ball and he should do it. The square-leg umpire should have consulted the main umpire and they should have gone upstairs. That's why the third umpire is sitting there. It should have been left to him - he could call it no-ball, six whatever."

Malik too agree with the two former pacers saying, “When you have an option, you should take the help from the third umpire, especially in such a big match at a crunch situation. Anyone can make a mistake but they should have consulted the third umpire. If the decision was taken after the replays which we saw it would have been better."

Shoaib Akhtar, meanwhile had taken a dig at the umpires with a tweet he posted after the match.

On the other hand, former captain Moin Khan, in conversation with Geo Super, felt it indeed was a no ball but admitted that the decision should have been take by the third umpire. “Replay show it was certainly a no ball but these decisions, the umpire should check with the third umpire. The mistake here is that they didn’t take help from third umpire,” he said.