IPL 2019: Bruce Oxenford asked the match referee to keep the minimum sanction for MS Dhoni

The game between the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Jaipur on Friday will be remembered for a long time. The reason behind it is not the thrilling game but MS Dhoni’s outburst against the on-field umpires. Over the years, Dhoni had made a name for himself with his calm and composed nature. However, his usual nature went for a toss as the CSK skipper berated the on-field umpires Bruce Oxenford and Ulhas Gandhe.

The incident occurred on the fourth delivery of the final over when Super Kings needed 8 runs from the last three balls while chasing 152. Gandhe, who was the main umpire, called a no-ball when Ben Stokes bowled a waist-high full toss to Mitchell Santner. But to everyone’s surprise, Gandhe’s square-leg colleague Oxenford quickly overturned the decision. However, it was not the only surprising turn of events at that moment as Dhoni was soon seen storming onto the pitch.

Leaving everyone shell-shocked, he confronted both the umpires as he animatedly made his displeasure clear. The game ended on a good note for the CSK with Santner hitting a last-ball six to seal a thriller. Following the game, Dhoni was fined 50 per cent of his match fee.

However, some have called it a lenient decision because he is Dhoni. And now sources have revealed that the umpire Bruce Oxenford was the reason behind it.  According to Hindustan Times, it was Oxenford who asked the match referee Prakash Bhatt – keep the sanction to just the deduction of match fee.

“When all parties met in the match referee’s room after the game, Oxenford made it clear that he wasn’t offended by the CSK skipper’s act of walking onto the field and having a discussion on the no-ball being reversed,” the source said.

Former cricketers slam Dhoni

Well, the umpires seem to have taken Dhoni’s behaviour lightly but the incident has now gone down well with former cricketers who felt that it painted a really bad picture. “This is not a good look for the game… No place at all for a captain to storm onto the pitch from the dugout,” former England captain Michael Vaughan tweeted.

On the other hand, former Australia opener Michael Slater, who was commentating in the match, was shocked by what he saw. “I can’t say I’ve seen this (before). “You will never see a captain storm onto the field to have a discussion with the umpires. Unbelievable,” Slater said.

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