'Sack him immediately' - Twitter fumes after third umpire makes a blunder in RCB vs PBKS game

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is into its 14th edition but the overall quality of umpiring has always been questioned. The ongoing second leg in the UAE is not an exception either and this time around, the third umpires have been making grave errors. Rahul Tripathi taking a low catch to dismiss KL Rahul in the game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) was under the scanner not long ago.

Many experts felt it was a clean catch but the third umpire thought otherwise and made the decision in favour of the batsman. Another such incident took place in the crucial game between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Devdutt Padikkal was the man in question and the third umpire on this occasion was K Srinivasan.

The left-handed batsman was missing Ravi Bishnoi’s googlies constantly and hence, finally decided to go funky trying for a reverse sweep. But Padikkal missed his shot and in the process, gloved the ball to the wicketkeeper KL Rahul who caught the catch.

The on-field umpire didn’t give it out and the PBKS skipper was quick to go for a review having heard the ball brush the gloves. Also, the ultra edge showed spike when the ball was close to the gloves and surely, the on-field decision should’ve been reversed. However, the third umpire was shockingly was heard saying, “There is no bat involved.”

He didn’t consider the spike off the glove and directed the on-field umpire K Ananthapadmanabhan to stay with his decision. Even he was helpless while KL Rahul was fuming complaining about not checking the spike on the ultra edge. To make things worse, Punjab also lost their only review thanks to a completely wrong decision.

RCB opt to bat after winning the toss

Earlier, RCB skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to bat first. He didn’t make any changes to the line-up while PBKS made three changes to their playing XI. They left out Deepak Hooda, Fabian Allen (injured) and Nathan Ellis and included Moises Henriques, Sarfaraz Khan and Harpreet Brar.

While RCB started well with their opening stand of 68 runs in less than 10 overs, Punjab should’ve had Padikkal in the 8th over itself. Twitter slammed the third umpire for making a blunder and slammed him for the same.

Here are some of the tweets:

Kumble barging into third ump room as we speak

— absy (@absycric) October 3, 2021

DRS can't eliminate howlers if umpires ignore what it says. 🤷‍♂️ #RCBvPBKS

— Saurabh Somani (@saurabh_42) October 3, 2021

Sack the 3rd umpire immediately #SelectDugout

What a joke!

— Scott Styris (@scottbstyris) October 3, 2021

How was that Not Out??? #Devdutt #IPL2021 #RCBvPBKD

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 3, 2021

Who trains umpires in India? Why have they been so incompetent for so many years, with the odd exception. How can they not be properly trained for a tournament as big as the IPL? Just baffles me. #IPL2021 #RCBvPBKS

— Raunak Kapoor (@RaunakRK) October 3, 2021

Terrible umpiring, mistakes like that is unforgivable with so much technology and help these days! #RCBvsPBKS #IPL2021

— Kris Srikkanth (@KrisSrikkanth) October 3, 2021

What qualifies as a spike on Ultra Edge? #RCBvsPBKS

— S.Badrinath (@s_badrinath) October 3, 2021

Now y'all understand what he meant. pic.twitter.com/1cTLXSf2as

— Heisenberg ☢ (@internetumpire) October 3, 2021

Flat line? Whats happening?#IPL2021 #RCBvsPBKS

— Abhinav mukund (@mukundabhinav) October 3, 2021

I tweeted this in 2018. Every year, incompetent umpires get high profile, high paying IPL gigs. Nandan, Vineet Kulkarni & many others in the past. Dandekar the other night, K Srinivasan today. This does damage the IPL's credibility. Someone at the BCCI needs to sort this out. https://t.co/BzFQBZmLDf

— Raunak Kapoor (@RaunakRK) October 3, 2021

#RCBvsPBKS
Should paddikal go by himself to show sportsmanship spirit after given not out by umpire even in DRS when there is a clear spike #ipl2021 #RCBvsPBKS #DRS

— Nishant mandrelia (@Nishantmandeli) October 3, 2021

Does "spirit of cricket" include batters walking out when know they nicked a ball or at least when the DRS on the giant screen confirms the same? #staraikelungal

— Jagan Santhanam (@jagansanthanam) October 3, 2021

What is the use of having DRS, if 3rd umpire is high 🚬🍀

— Jatin (@Jatingrover_7) October 3, 2021

Umpiring rules need to be reviewed. What is benifit of DRS if Umpire still took wrong decision. Umpire should also get points on the basis of performances. @ICC @BCCI #IPL2021

— Le_Sarcastic (@Ihtesham2208) October 3, 2021

How on earth this was not given out despite going upstairs and challenging on-field umpires decision??

Question by many Cricket Fans now :
What's the use of DRS and Technology??#RCBvPBKS pic.twitter.com/Rekxb67tav

— Nilesh G (@oye_nilesh) October 3, 2021