Pakistan cricket team and former players have raised concerns about third umpire Ruchira Palliyaguruge’s decision to dismiss Fakhar Zaman during the India vs Pakistan Super 4s match at the Asia Cup on Sunday. The controversial catch by Sanju Samson off Hardik Pandya’s bowling in the third over led to Pakistan reportedly challenging the incident to match referee Andy Pycroft, with the team questioning the legitimacy of the catch and the limited number of camera angles reviewed.The dismissal occurred when Fakhar Zaman, who had scored 15 of Pakistan’s 21 runs, edged a slower delivery from Hardik Pandya, with Samson diving forward to take the catch. The third umpire reviewed the catch from a couple of angles before declaring the batter out.
Pakistan’s Salman Ali Agha addressed the controversial decision in his official report to the match referee and during the press conference. He expressed his doubts about the catch while maintaining a diplomatic stance.“Umpires can make mistakes. But it did look like it bounced ahead of the keeper to me. I might be wrong. The way [Fakhar] was batting, if he had batted through the powerplay, we would probably have scored 190. But those are calls for umpires to make. To me, it looked like it bounced before the keeper. I might be mistaken, but so might be the umpire,” Agha stated.Former Pakistan cricketers were more direct in their criticism of the decision. Shahid Afridi, speaking on Samaa TV, suggested potential bias, stating, “Unhone IPL me bhi toh umpiring karni hai [He has to umpire in the IPL too].”Mohammad Yusuf criticised the limited review process, saying, “They didn’t even check many angles. Fakhar had hit three fours and handled (Jasprit) Bumrah with ease in the first over. His wicket was crucial for India.”Former pacer Shoaib Akhtar provided detailed criticism on state-run Pakistan TV: “Fakhar wasn’t out. He should have been given the benefit of doubt. Majaal hai ki widwicket pe camera dekh le (Did they dare look at the mid-wicket camera angle?). Otherwise the cameras show the whole stump, but in this case they could not find an angle? Why couldn’t they get an angle? With 26 cameras available, why did the third umpire only check two angles? “If Fakhar had stayed, the match might have turned. The third umpiring level was questionable. It clearly looks like the ball touched the grass. His palms are not on the ground fully. The ball has weight too.”Fact check: What is Ruchira Palliyaguruge’s record in the IPL?Ruchira Palliyaguruge has officiated in 18 Tests, 132 ODIs and 84 T20Is in men’s cricket while also standing official in 22 WODIs and eight WT20Is. Elsewhere, he has been a official in 158 T20s – 110 as an umpire and 48 as a TV umpire.However, he is not one of the five Sri Lankans who have been umpires, TV umpires or match referees in the history of the IPL. Graeme Labrooy, Kumar Dharmasena, Ranjan Madugalle, Roshan Mahanama and Tyron Wijewardene have all officiated in the IPL.This controversy follows another dispute from the group stage match between India and Pakistan, where tensions emerged over pre-match protocols. During that game, India captain Suryakumar Yadav declined to shake hands with Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha at the toss, citing protests over the Pahalgam terror attacks.The Pakistan team had previously raised concerns about match referee Andy Pycroft’s handling of the handshake situation during the group stage match. Pakistan claimed Pycroft had instructed their captain not to shake hands with his Indian counterpart during the toss, though the ICC later disputed Pakistan’s assertion that Pycroft had apologised for this directive.
