MUMBAI, Jan 24: Paras Dogra, the captain of Jammu and Kashmir, expressed his frustration regarding the umpiring standards during their Ranji Trophy match against the defending champions, Mumbai. He hoped the match officials would be a bit more observant.
Dogra, 40, who has played 140 first-class matches and is in his final season of domestic cricket, noted that such issues have persisted for years.
On the second day, former ICC elite panel umpire Sundaram Ravi missed a clear edge from Shreyas Iyer, which everyone could hear and was later confirmed on replay. Additionally, he ruled Mumbai’s captain Ajinkya Rahane out for a catch behind, despite the batter having crossed the boundary. Ravi also declared a delivery from Umar Nazir as a no-ball, with no replay available to verify the decision.
“What can I say? This has been ongoing for years, and there’s not much we can do about it. Umpires are human and they can make errors. However, if they were a bit more attentive, the game would be more enjoyable,” said Dogra, a former cricketing legend from Himachal Pradesh, during a post-match interview.
“It’s part of the game, which is why DRS exists. Having DRS in this match would have been beneficial, but we can’t change that since several games are happening concurrently. So it really doesn’t matter.”
After struggling at 101 for 7 in their second innings, Mumbai relied on Shardul Thakur’s impressive unbeaten score of 113 to extend their lead to 188 runs by the end of the second day.
Dogra praised Thakur’s performance, stating, “Shardul played exceptionally well. The ball stopped moving, which affected our strategy. We tried some bouncers, but they didn’t work. It was one of the finest innings I’ve witnessed in domestic cricket.”
Dogra believes that as long as the target remains within the 250-run mark, there is still a chance for a successful outcome. “Patience is essential. The pitch is still behaving well, and we’re 188 runs behind. If we bat well, I’m optimistic. We scored 200 runs in our previous innings, and the pitch is improving, so there’s hope,” he added.
