Hyderabad: Former International Cricket Council (ICC) Elite Panel umpire Daryl Harper accused the former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni of wasting time during the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) match saying "Maybe, some people are bigger than the law."
Dhoni, who stepped down from the captaincy ahead of the 2024 IPL season, was leading CSK and was seen arguing with on-field umpires during Qualifier 1 against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Chennai, which was won by the five-time champions eventually.
However, MS Dhoni's behaviour was the talking point of the match and was mostly criticized by some experts and fans as he stopped the play before the start of the 16th over in GT's chase for a prolonged period. This is a common phenomenon in cricket to waste time, but it was arguably the one reason that changed the momentum of the game.
The wicketkeeper-batter wanted pacer Matheesha Pathirana to bowl the 16th over, but the umpires told him that the Sri Lankan bowler had spent nine minutes outside the field, so he would be on the field for the same amount of time that he didn't complete, so he would be ineligible to bowl immediately.
The discussion between the CSK captain and the on-field umpires lasted for over four minutes and by that time, Pathirana completed his nine minutes on the field and hence was allowed to bowl the 16th over. However, Harper was unimpressed by the incident and showed his disappointment in Dhoni's behaviour.
"Dhoni wasted time to allow his preferred bowling option to deliver the vital 16th over. That’s the only conclusion that I can draw from that disappointing spectacle," Harper stated while answering to the question asked by mid-day.
"The issue for me is the lack of respect shown for the spirit of cricket and the directions of the umpires. There were other [bowling] options for the captain, but they were ignored. Maybe, some people are bigger than the law or in this case, the spirit of cricket. It’s always disappointing to see the lengths that some people will go to in order to win," he went on to add.
