IPL 2019: Umpire Sundaram Ravi, who earned Kohli's wrath for missing no-ball, unlikely to be sanctioned

One of the core issues that BCCI has been unable to address is the qualifying structure through which umpires are coming up the ranks.

As per data accessed by PTI, there were about 114 umpires who had officiated in around 2000 BCCI games of all age groups (Men and Women).

This year's Ranji Trophy had been marred by umpiring howlers and fatigue was a reason cited by many for the bloopers.

The most notable was Cheteshwar Pujara being ruled not out during the Ranji Trophy semi-final between Saurashtra and Karanataka. R Vinay Kumar had induced a big nick that the umpire couldn't hear and the India international scored a hundred which proved decisive.

The number is very less and more so because those appearing for BCCI's Level 1, 2 or 3 umpiring Test have been found to be well below par.

"We have the National Academy of Umpires (NAU) in Nagpur. To procure a form and get enrolled there, you need a recommendation from local state association. The system itself is flawed," a retired former first-class umpire, who didn't wish to come on record, said.

It has been learnt that BCCI also intends to clamp down on some umpiring academies, where candidates are allegedly prepared for the BCCI level tests, which gives them direct advantage over other meritorious candidates. 

 Umpire Sundaram Ravi, whose no ball howler cost Royal Challengers Bangalore heavily in an IPL match and led to an angry outburst by RCB skipper Virat Kohli, is unlikely to be sanctioned due to lack of officials with international experience on the BCCI roster.

Currently there are only 11 Indian Umpires allotted for on-field and TV duty for 56 IPL games, which means Ravi might get negative marking from the match referee but BCCI can hardly take any corrective measures beyond that.

"Currently we have only 17 umpires assigned on-field and for third umpires' duty. Out of them 11 are Indian and six foreigners from the Elite Panel. Apart from them, we have six more Indians as fourth umpires," a member of the now defunct Umpiring sub-committee, who is privy to allocation of assignments, told PTI on Friday.

Ravi, the only Indian in the ICC's Elite Panel, failed to spot an obvious no ball from Mumbai Indians' Lasith Malinga as RCB lost by six runs under controversial circumstances.

A livid RCB captain Virat Kohli said that "umpires should have kept their eyes open" while his India team deputy Rohit Sharma was also critical of the other on-field umpire C Nandan.

Ironically, Nandan was adjudged best Indian umpire in the BCCI awards two years ago.

There is speculation in the BCCI that Ravi and Nandan may not be used in the play-off games of IPL but it's a very preliminary thought since overseas umpires like Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney are around.

The BCCI brass, along with the Committee of Administrators (COA), has long been worried about the declining standard of Indian Umpires but has not been able to come up with a feasible solution. 

"Even in those 11, we have only five who are assigned international matches. Apart from Ravi, we have Nandan, Shamshuddin, Anil Chaudhary and Nitin Menon, who are in ICC's international panel. The other six are currently officiating in domestic games," he said.

"Match referee Manu Nayar has no option but to mention the errors by Ravi and Nandan in his report but you can't just off-load Ravi. Let's accept, the replacements will be worse. So penalising him is out of question," he added.

One of the core issues that BCCI has been unable to address is the qualifying structure through which umpires are coming up the ranks.

As per data accessed by PTI, there were about 114 umpires who had officiated in around 2000 BCCI games of all age groups (Men and Women).

This year's Ranji Trophy had been marred by umpiring howlers and fatigue was a reason cited by many for the bloopers.

The most notable was Cheteshwar Pujara being ruled not out during the Ranji Trophy semi-final between Saurashtra and Karanataka. R Vinay Kumar had induced a big nick that the umpire couldn't hear and the India international scored a hundred which proved decisive.

The number is very less and more so because those appearing for BCCI's Level 1, 2 or 3 umpiring Test have been found to be well below par.

"We have the National Academy of Umpires (NAU) in Nagpur. To procure a form and get enrolled there, you need a recommendation from local state association. The system itself is flawed," a retired former first-class umpire, who didn't wish to come on record, said.

It has been learnt that BCCI also intends to clamp down on some umpiring academies, where candidates are allegedly prepared for the BCCI level tests, which gives them direct advantage over other meritorious candidates. 

A furious India and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli asked umpires officiating in the IPL to keep their "eyes open" after a "ridiculous" no-ball howler cost his side dearly, something which was also acknowledged by rival Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma.

Both Kohli and Rohit criticised the umpiring standard during the match which was won by Mumbai Indians by six runs on Thursday.

RCB needed seven to win the match and Lasith Malinga's delivery to Shivam Dube -- a full toss- was a no-ball which was missed by the on-field umpire S Ravi.

The TV replay showed that the bowler had overstepped and a free hit should have been awarded. Had it been a free-hit, AB de Villiers, batting on 70, would have faced it and the RCB could have won the match.

"We are playing at the IPL level. It's not club level, the umpires should have their eyes open. That was a big no-ball. That is a ridiculous call (last ball). If it is a game of margins, I don't know what is happening. They should have been more sharp and careful out there," a livid Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Incidentally, Ravi is the only Indian umpire in ICC's Elite Panel for a number of years now as none of the others have been good enough to be elevated.

Rohit was also critical of the umpiring standard during the match.

"Honestly, I just go to know after crossing the rope that it was a no-ball. These kind of mistakes aren't good for the game. Wining and losing does not matter. It (mistake) is not good for the game of cricket, as simple as that," the MI captain said.

"Those sort of mistakes have to be avoided. If we (players) make mistakes, we pay for it. So, it is not good for the game. Eventually, the game will start moving in different direction if these things (umpiring mistakes) keep happening," he said at the post-match press conference.

He urged the umpires to be more careful about these kind of decisions in future.

"You know that the decision factor is very very important. Those crucial decisions can change the game, whether it is a wide, a no-ball. So, we just have to be more aware of it, as simple as that. Next time, probably, they (umpires) will be more careful about those kind of decisions," he added.

Rohit also talked about another incident of umpiring mistake during the match. This time, his team was at the receiving end.

"The over before that Bumrah bowled, a ball which wasn't a wide but it was called," Rohit said, referring to a decision given by other umpire, C Nandan.

Royal Challengers Bangalore bowler Yuzvendra Chahal said the umpire had committed a mistake by not calling no-ball.

"Obviously, it was a crucial ball which was a no-ball. Otherwise, we just needed four runs. Can say it was bad luck for us. Obviously umpiring is the main factor, especially in T20 and it was the last ball of the match and obviously you can say it is umpire's fault," Chahal said.

Talking about the match which his side lost, Kohli said he committed a mistake by trying to take on Bumrah.

"We should have done a better job with the ball after they were seven down. The last few overs were brutal for us. Bit of a mistake from me to take Bumrah on at that time. Bumrah make.s a hell of a difference in any team," the RCB captain said