Former Australian keeper-batter Adam Gilchrist has come down hard on Rishabh Pant after his argument with the umpire during the IPL 2024 clash between the Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants on Friday. The former Australian legend has called for the on-field umpires to take more control and be more assertive towards the players.
The incident between Pant and the umpire occurred in the 4th over of the innings bowled by Khaleel Ahmed as the left-arm seamer sent down a wide. While Pant had signalled for the review, he seemed to not be looking at the umpire while doing that. Nevertheless, the on-field umpire sent it upstairs and the Capitals ended up losing the review. With the Capitals losing their review, Pant had a long chat with umpire Yeshwant Barde.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Gilchrist opined that umpires should cease listening to player complaints and draw the line at some stage, explaining:
"I saw another example tonight where umpires need to take better control of games, and that is in any format. They just got to do a better job at moving things forward. There was a dispute over whether Rishabh had reviewed it. Okay, there was a miscommunication over the review call. But they stood there and spoke about that for 3-4 minutes. It's a very simple conversation, I believe. No matter how much Rishabh is complaining or any other player is complaining, umpires should just say, 'it's over' and quickly move on. But if he keeps talking, he should get fined."
Rishabh Pant smashes quick-fire 41 in Delhi Capitals' win:
Meanwhile, Pant played some innovative and eye-catching shots amid his brisk 41 against the Super Giants on Friday. The left-hander shared a partnership of 77 with Jake Fraser-McGurk, who smashed 55 on his IPL debut and top-scored for them in their six-wicket win.
Earlier, Ayush Badoni had rescued Lucknow from a precarious 94-7 to lift them 167-7 in 20 overs.
