A huge controversy erupted on Friday, 3 January when Punjab opener Shubman Gill allegedly "abused" the umpire after being given out and refused to walk off the field during their Ranji Trophy game against Delhi at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.
Opener Shubman Gill, batting on 10, was adjudged caught behind off Delhi’s medium pacer Suboth Bhatti. The fielding team made a huge appeal after which the umpire gave him out.
But the 20-year-old refused to walk back to the pavilion and stood his ground. Instead he walked up to the debutant umpire Mohammed Rafi and said something to him. The umpire then consulted the leg umpire and overturned his decision.
This didn’t go down well with the Delhi team as they refused to continue playing and walked off the field. They, in fact, claim that the batsman abused the umpire post the decision.
Ultimately, the match referee had to intervene and sort things out.
"The umpire had given him out but he refused to leave the field and argued with umpire. Then umpire changed his decision and the match referee P Ranganathan also stepped on to the field to sort out things. It took around 10 minutes," a DDCA source told ANI.
But the official refused any claims of the Delhi team walking off the field.
“There was no walkout by the team and the players stayed on the ground itself,” the source said.
The match resumed as Shubman came back to the crease to continue his innings from where he left.
But the 20-year-old Punjab opener didn’t last long as he edged one off Simarjeet Singh to Anuj Rawat for 23 off 41 balls with the team’s score on 60.
A Times of India journalist narrated the series of events in a thread on his Twitter handle in which he claimed that Shubman, unimpressed with the decision of the on-field umpire, didn't move anywhere and remained at his crease.
The journalist further quoted Delhi vice-captain Nitish Rana saying that Shubman walked down to umpire and abused him. Following this, the umpire allegedly overturned his decision.
In the Elite Group A and B standings, Punjab are currently at the top of the table with 17 points whereas Delhi are at the 11th spot with seven points.
Gill will be leading India 'A' in the two tour matches and three one-day games in New Zealand and is also a part of the India 'A' squad for two four-day games, before Team India play five T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests beginning 24 January.
(With inputs from IANS)
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