Shamshuddin's decision was extremely frustrating, rues Eoin Morgan

Much against all the wishes of the English team and their skipper Eoin Morgan, umpire Chettihody Shamshuddin has been named as the match official for the final T20I at Bengaluru. The English team was extremely frustrated with the poor umpiring decisions made by the Hyderabadi umpire. As per the recent reports in Sky Sports, the English team management is all set to express their dissatisfaction for the umpiring blunders to the match referee.

After the conclusion of the second T20I at Nagpur, England assistant coach Paul Farbrace was seen having a word with Shamshuddin. He had adjudged Joe Root lbw in the final over that looked like a very poor umpiring call. Earlier in the match, he had given a not out decision to Virat Kohli despite the batsman being plumb off the bowling of Chris Jordan.

When asked if England would report the matter to the match referee, English skipper Morgan said, “Absolutely. We have an opportunity to do so before the next game. There’s always feedback given through the match referee on our report.”

He further cited that the decision against Joe Root was absolutely frustrating. Root was the well-set batsman with England needed 8 off the final over. Jasprit Bumrah bowled a slower one and the Indians appealed for an lbw. Apparently, the ball had taken the inside edge off the bat. Despite the edge, he was given out by Shamshuddin. England failed to score 8 in the final overs as Bumrah bowled masterclass death bowling. The timing of the poor decision hurt England’s case.

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Morgan also added, “There is extreme frustration. It shifted momentum, the first ball of the 20th over. Losing a batsman who’s faced 40 balls on a wicket that’s not that easy to time it on is quite a bit of a hammer blow. It’s proved very costly all things considered.”

The packed house at the VCA Stadium at Nagpur could well have been the reason why the umpire failed to pick up the edge. However, Morgan does not like the excuse. He believes that the poor decision ended up spoiling the closely contested game between the two sides.

“It’s part and parcel of the job, to be able to cope with the pressure and make good decisions more often than not. The fact that comes out of the game as a highlight is disappointing, it shouldn’t be like that. It should be about a good performance by both teams and a really competitive game,” Morgan conceded.