Pakistan have complained to match referee Neeyamur Rashid over the on-field umpire Kumar Dharmasena’s decision to allow Bangladesh to take an lbw review off the penultimate ball of the third ODI in Mirpur. 

ESPNcricinfo has learnt the Pakistan management registered their complaint on the grounds that they believe Bangladesh took the review after a replay of the delivery flashed up on the big screen.

The decision to take the review, and its ultimate consequences helped Bangladesh assume an unassailable position in the game. Before that delivery, Pakistan needed 12 to win off two balls. Rishad Hossain flighted one up onto leg stump that spun down the leg side, away from Shaheen Afridi. The umpire called it a wide as it went down leg. After brief discussions, Bangladesh decided to take a review for lbw, even though, to the naked eye, the ball was nowhere near Afridi’s legs or any part of his body.

Normal protocols mandate that a decision about a review be made before any replays are visible to players to prevent them influencing the decision to review.

 However, with the assumption there was no case for a review as the said delivery was initially given a wide, Pakistan have argued those normal protocols were not followed, with the big screen at the stadium showing the ball passing the bat, and potentially giving Bangladesh enough information to suggest it may have made contact. Pakistan are also understood to be aggrieved at the possibility Bangladesh were allowed to review outside the maximum 15 seconds within which such a decision must be made. No timer appeared on the broadcast, so whether Bangladesh reviewed in time could not be independently confirmed.

However, the reason for Afridi’s visible frustration became clear as soon as the DRS went to Hawk-Eye, with a spike at the moment the ball passed the bottom of his bat, suggesting it had kissed the toe end and could not, therefore, be a wide. Bangladesh lost the review, but the wide decision was reversed and the equation became 12 in one ball. Afridi was stumped off the final delivery and swung his bat over the stumps in frustration. It secured victory for Bangladesh by 11 runs, and a 2-1 series win.

It is not yet clear yet what action the PCB wants from the match referee, though it is believed they expect at minimum a public acknowledgment that an error was made.

The decision is the second in as many games Pakistan have felt they may have come out the wrong side of. Salman Agha was run-out after being caught outside his crease trying to hand the ball to Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the second ODI. 

Agha’s frustration spilled over and he had heated words before throwing his bat and gloves down, earning him a demerit point and a 50% match fee fine. Mehidy was fined 20% of his match fee for that incident. (Cricinfo)

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Former Sri Lankan cricketer and international umpire Kumar Dharmasena has denied media reports linking him to an illegal agricultural business operated in Sri Lanka.

In a video message on Facebook, Dharmasena said his factory for the production of Agarwood, popularly known as oudh, products were being carried out as per the laws of the nation. 

He further said the Pintanna Plantations: Agarwood Cultivation was open for anyone to engage in an inspection tour which will prove that the cultivation factory was adhering to stringent regulations. 

Stating that the media reports claiming an illegal business was a mudslinging campaign, Dharmasena reiterated that the agarwood cultivation is being conducted as per the necessary legal provisions and he takes responsibility for the operations of the plant. 

Kumar Dharmasena’s message on Facebook : https://shorturl.at/mruXZ (Newswire)

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A 10-year plan must be followed to build the sport of cricket in Sri Lanka, former Sri Lanka cricketer and international cricket umpire Kumar Dharmasena said. 

Speaking during an event in Ayagama on Sunday (Dec 17), Dharmasena said even though cricket has faced a setback in Sri Lanka at present, he hopes that it will be resolved in the future. 

“Issues will not be resolved just by changing the members of the Selection Committee. It is fine if a Selection Committee is changed every three or four years. But I personally believe that a policy should be implemented targeting 10 years,” he said. 

Dharmasena pointed out that if SLC was focussing on selecting a skipper, it was essential to find a player who could bear the responsibility of Captaincy for at least five years. 

“We need to find a good Captain for 2027. I believe the sport of cricket will never fade away in the country and will remain a prominent sport in the nation. We are currently facing a small setback, which I believe will be resolved in the future,” he said. 

Pointing out that former cricketers, such as Sanath Jayasuriya, have now entered the SLC, Kumar Dharmasena emphasized that new developments can be expected going forward. 

He, however, stressed that if the authorities work with a plan, then the issues could be resolved in a shorter period. (NewsWire)

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The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the 20 match officials for the League Round of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India.

Sixteen umpires will officiate the 13th edition of the tournament, including all 12 of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires and four members of the ICC Emerging Umpire Panel, they are: Chris Brown, Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nitin Menon, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shaid, Rod Tucker, Alex Wharf, Joel Wilson and Paul Wilson.

The experienced list includes three of the four umpires who were appointed for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 final at Lord’s – Dharmasena, Erasmus and Tucker – with only Aleem Dar missing, who stepped down from the Elite Panel in March of this year.

The Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees is represented at the event by a quartet of former international cricketers, namely, Jeff Crowe, Andy Pycroft, Richie Richardson and Javagal Srinath.

Srinath will take charge of the tournament opener between the last event’s finalists, England and New Zealand on 5 October in Ahmedabad. Menon and Dharmasena will be the standing umpires, with Paul Wilson as TV umpire and Saikat taking on fourth umpire duties.

The officials have been named for the entirety of the League segment, with the selections for the semi-finals and final of the tournament to be named in due course.

Wasim Khan, ICC General Manager – Cricket, said: “To deliver an event of this magnitude you require high-performing individuals at every level. The ICC Elite panel of umpires, referees, and emerging group of umpires involved will bring immense skills, experience and world-class standards to this World Cup. We are delighted with the group that we have assembled for this tournament”.

“The ICC Cricket Operations department takes great pride and effort in operating a robust and meritocratic selection procedure with the help of our Member Boards. Our competitive pathway system continues to see the development and emergence of high-quality match officials across the game. We are pleased that four members of the ICC Emerging Umpire Panel have earned the opportunity to be part of this showcase event and we wish them, and all the other match officials involved all the very best for the tournament.”

Sean Easey, ICC Manager – Umpires and Referees said: “We are pleased to announce the match officials who will be overseeing the biggest ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup ever. This group is the best from around the world and will be ready to perform a challenging job, with the eyes of the global cricketing community focussed on the event.  

“We are confident that they will do an excellent job and wish them all the best of luck for what promises to be a World Cup to remember.” (ICC)

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As couples around the world celebrate Valentine’s Day and wish their other half a happy Valentine’s Day, cricket fans were perplexed when veteran Sri Lankan umpire Kumar Dharmasena posted a photo on Facebook with Sourav Ganguly and Ramiz Raja.

While Dharamsena is known to be a regular user of social media and often posts pictures from both on- and off field moments, it was the caption of the post that caught the eye of fans. ‘Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you’ wrote Dharmasena alongside a picture with both Ganguly and Raja. The post immediately went viral on social media and left fans in splits.

Dharmasena, Ganguly, and Raja are currently in Dubai for a meeting of the MCC Cricket Committee. A few hours before his Valentine’s Day post, Dharamsena had posed a picture of the entire 6-man committee, which featured Ganguly, Raja, and also ex-Australian coach, and former opener Justin Langer.

When it comes to Dharamsena, he is one of the most well-known umpires in the world, and he is known to officiate the most important games.He was the on-field umpire in the famous 2019 Cricket World Cup final between England and New Zealand as well as the 2022 T20 World Cup final between Pakistan and England. He was the reserve umpire for the 2021 T20 World Cup summit clash, in which Australia defeated New Zealand.

In fact, Dharamsena holds the unique feat of being the only person who has both played and umpired in a Cricket World Cup final. Apart from being one of the two on-field umpires in the 2019 final, he was part of the Sri Lankan team that defeated Australia in the 1996 Cricket World Cup final in Lahore.

Dharamsena played a total of 31 tests and 141 ODIs for Sri Lanka, in which he took 69 and 138 wickets, respectively. (Times Now)

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