Ranji Trophy final: Ananthapadmanabhan umpires from both ends; Barde replaces Shamsuddin

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Rajkot, March 10: Bizarre scenes were enacted on the second day of the Ranji Trophy final between Saurashtra and Bengal here on Tuesday (March 10) as KN Ananthapadmanabhan did umpiring duties from both ends.

The genesis of this chain of events was on the first day when the other on-field umpire C Shamsuddin suffered hit when a fielder lobbed the ball from the outfield. Shamsuddin did not come out to the field to do his official duties on the second day.

This meant that Ananthapadmanabhan did umpiring from both ends and Piyush Kakkar was deployed as square leg umpire and not officiating the match. There was the experienced S Ravi in the umpires' fold but he was doing the DRS duty, hence could not come out on the field to do the on-field umpiring.

It has been reported by The Hindu that Yeshwant Barde will replace Shamsuddin, who will play no further part in the match.

In the event of an on-field umpire getting injured or unwell, an official - who is the liaison officer for the umpires/match referee during match - is asked to do the square-leg umpire's duty. This umpire is generally a local umpire who has been involved in the match by the state association, in this case Saurashtra Cricket Association.

Usually a Ranji Trophy game consists of only two umpires with the match referee doubling up as the third umpire. In those Ranji games which are telecasted, a third umpire is added to the umpiring team.

However, the latest episode came as a jarring note to the already dilapidated Ranji Trophy final as Bengal coach Arun Lal voiced heavy criticism of the pitch for the match.

"(It is a) very poor wicket. The board (BCCI) has to look at things like this. The ball is not coming to the bat. The surface is dusting on the first day. You've got neutral curators, why not send them 15 days before?," Lal had said.