Harbhajan Singh has highlighted how Pakistan were denied a win when South Africa’s Tabraiz Shamsi escaped a tight LBW ruling during the two countries’ 2023 World Cup encounter in Chennai on Friday.
The event occurred during South Africa’s run chase’s 46th over. Haris Rauf’s bowling smacked Shamsi in the pads. The on-field umpire ruled that it was not out. Pakistan went for the DRS after the ball kissed the leg stump.
The ball tracking revealed the umpire’s decision in wickets hitting. The Men in Green needed just one wicket to win the game, but they were defeated by a single wicket.
While Pakistan was on the receiving end this time, Harbhajan believes it may happen to India in the present World Cup.
He described this on his YouTube channel:
“It can also happen to India. Imagine if India are in the final and Jasprit Bumrah is bowling. India need one wicket to win, while the opposition needs two runs. The ball hits the pad and the batters run two.”
“The on-field umpire has given it not out, but India take a review, and it shows that the ball is clipping the stumps, but it is umpire’s call. It happened to Pakistan here, but it can also happen to India or Australia as well.”
Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan contended that Shamsi should have been out since the ball-tracking revealed that it was clipping the stumps. He said that his decision cost Pakistan the game.
“Due to such useless rules, they made England win the World Cup in 2019” – Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh went on to say that many cricket regulations are illogical. He emphasized how, after the Super Over finished in a draw, England won the 2019 World Cup final against New Zealand using the boundary count rule.
He felt that New Zealand did not deserve to lose the final due to such a regulation, and that the trophy should have been shared by both teams, adding:
“Due to such useless rules, they made England win the World Cup in 2019. Both teams scored the same amount of runs, but England were awarded the win on the basis of boundary count.”
“If you are giving so much importance to boundaries, then just remove singles and doubles from the game. Yes, they changed the particular rule after that, but New Zealand lost the final.”
Harbhajan Singh
Notably, the ICC eventually repealed the border count criterion. In the case of a deadlocked Super Over in an ICC semi-final or final, the two sides would now continue to play Super Overs until a winner was determined.