NEW DELHI: Rising India star Ruturaj Gaikwad vented his ire at the umpiring standards over a controversial dismissal of Maharashtra’s stand-in skipper Ankit Bawne in the ongoing Ranji Trophy game against Services in Pune.
Bawne’s dismissal occurred when he nicked the ball to second slip. However, video replays later clearly revealed that the ball had made contact with the ground.
This contentious umpiring decision led Maharashtra batsman Gaikwad, who is currently leading India A in Australia, to highlight officiating inconsistencies through an explosive social media post.
“How can this be given out in a live game???. Shame to even appeal this for a catch. Absolutely pathetic,” Gaikwad captioned the video of his Instagram story.
In response to Services’ 293, Maharashtra were struggling at 63/3 until Bawne fought a lone battle with his 73-run knock. But he was given out in a contentious decision, leading to criticism from Gaikwad, who questioned the quality of officiating in the tournament.
Bawne initially refused to leave the field after being controversially given out at the Gahunje Stadium on Thursday, leading to a 15-minute halt in play.
TV replays later showed that the ball had actually bounced before being caught by slip fielder Shubham Rohilla.
However, since this Ranji Trophy match had only digital live coverage and lacked a full broadcast setup—including a designated TV umpire—there was no Decision Review System (DRS) available.
After considerable persuasion from the match officials and his team management, the middle-order batter eventually left the field.
