Ranji Trophy 2024/25: Dismayed by Umpiring Standard, Jammu & Kashmir Complaint to BCCI After Upset Mumbai Win

Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) have officially lodged a complaint with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about the poor umpiring decisions during their Ranji Trophy 2024/25 Elite Group A match against Mumbai.

Jammu & Kashmir pulled off an upset win over record champions, but saw some umpiring calls go against them during the 5-wicket victory on Saturday (January 25) at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy in BKC, where Decision Review System (DRS) was not in use.

On Day 2 of the contest, Shreyas Iyer survived a caught-behind appeal despite edging one to the Jammu and Kashmir wicketkeeper Kanhaiya Wadhawan, while the other contentious decision was J&K's Abid Mushtaq's leg before wicket (LBW) dismissal.

According to the Times of India (TOI), the JKCA has lodged an official complaint with the BCCI over the poor umpiring decisions. The JKCA official revealed that they were not happy with Abid Mushtaq being given out lbw despite the ball seemingly pitching outside the leg-stump and Shreyas being ruled not out after a clear edge.

"Yes, we have lodged an official complaint with the BCCI about the standard of umpiring in the match. We have pointed out a couple of decisions which went against the J&K team-Abid Mushtaq being given out lbw (off Mohit Avasthi) in the first innings, when the ball seemed to be have pitched outside the leg-stump," JKCA administrator Brig. Anil Gupta was quoted as saying by TOI.

"And Mumbai's middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer being given not out despite having clearly edged the ball. Since I was present at the ground and watching the match, I was dismayed by some of the umpiring decisions, which were quite apalling."

Navdeep Singh and Sundaram Ravi, who was earlier in the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires, were the on-field umpires during the match, while Nitin Goel was the match referee in charge of the contest in Mumbai.

The BCCI has used the DRS only for the knockout stages of the Ranji Trophy since the last five years. But technology could have come in handy during the Mumbai vs Jammu & Kashmir match. There was another controversy in the match when Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed in the second innings.

Rahane was out caught behind, and had also crossed the boundary ropes, while the next batter in, Shardul Thakur also was on his way to the crease, but umpire Ravi ruled the delivery as a no-ball, without any replay evidence to support it and called back Rahane.