It’s Official: Dhoni’s Dismissal was an Action Replay Blunder from the Host Broadcaster

In a rare occurrence of error and subsequent admission, it has been made official that the Mahendra Singh Dhoni dismissal in the first innings of the second India West Indies Test was a mistake. But there will be no amends.

V.V.S. Laxman, Mahendra Singh Dhoni

The Indian captain is leading the Indian cricket team at half strength in the ongoing India West Indies series and his presence, therefore, at the crease could have made a huge difference. As it turned out, the captain was yet again at the receiving end of a dismissal that was later proved to be unfair. That is twice now in two Tests that Dhoni has been negated, rendering the Indian team in a spot of bother.

Things could have been a lot worse for team India in the first innings had it not been for V.V.S. Laxman and Suresh Raina staging a recovery midway. Even then India were in a tricky situation with the hosts making more than a fight after winning the toss and electing to field in rather dubious weather conditions. Laxman was unfortunate not to get to a century but his eighty-five runs provided the perfect rescue act and in hindsight, a rather valuable effort as yet again India fought from a circumspect situation in the first innings. Without the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, the onus lay greatly on Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But when the captain is taken out of the equation in tough decisions, it puts that much more pressure on the Indian team as has been the case.

However, the ICC has admitted on the occasion of the decision made in the first innings of the second Test at Bridgetown, Barbados that Dhoni was wrongly dismissed although they refused to blame the umpire for the flaw. On the contrary, on this occasion, the IMG Media, who is the host broadcaster, has taken responsibility for the flawed decision.

Field umpire, Ian Gould, referred Dhoni’s dismissal to the third umpire. However, Fidel Edwards was given the credit for the wicket despite having erred on the issue of the no ball because the wrong ball was replayed for the benefit of the third umpire. The host broadcaster has claimed responsibility, insisting that their problems were compounded by the absence of a senior professional technician. India could not appeal via the Umpire Decision Review System ( UDRS ) because they themselves had opposed it.

But in the context of the match, it is not likely to change the situation because West Indies are into their first innings of the match with rain ruining much of the second day. It basically means that the ICC cannot go back in time to rectify the error or provide a suitable compensation within the rules of the game. It will simply mean that other than an obvious error and subsequent apology, India will hope that the one decision does not come back to haunt them and it is not likely to do given West Indies’ position as India look to establish a 2-0 series victory as the no.1 ranked Test team, rain notwithstanding.