Harper recalled one of his decisions that left Dhoni miffed back in 2011.
It was Harper who gave Sachin Tendulkar out ‘Shoulder Before Wicket’ during India’s 1999 tour of Australia. Even in his last series as an umpire, Harper made a decision that left the ex-India skipper MS Dhoni miffed.
The controversial decision happened during India’s tour of West Indies in 2011 as Harper banned Praveen Kumar from bowling in the remainder of the innings in Jamaica Test, after the India seamer was running down to the middle of the pitch into the protected area.
“Maybe he was letting off steam and hadn’t appreciated me removing Test debutant Praveen Kumar from the attack for repeatedly running down the middle of the pitch into the protected area,” Harper told Asianet Newsable. “I recall MS suggesting I should have been more lenient to the newcomer, but Praveen had already played in 52 ODIs before his first Test so he knew the Laws. I have a very good memory and recall MS responding to me when I informed him that the bowler was banned for the rest of the innings.”
It is worth noting here that Praveen Kumar wasn’t the first Indian seamer who was stopped from bowling midway through the innings.
During India’s tour of Zimbabwe in 2000, Harper had handed out the same treatment to Ashish Nehra for the same fault. While Dhoni was not part of the team back then, he must have been aware of Harper’s strictness.
“’We’ve had trouble with you before, Harper,’ were Dhoni’s exact words. I laughed aloud heartily as I wandered away to square-leg which probably wasn’t a respectful response on my behalf. Maybe MS knew that Praveen Kumar was only the second Indian bowler to be banned in a Test match for repeatedly running into the protected area. Maybe MS knew that the first Indian bowler to be banned had been Ashish Nehra in a Test in Bulawayo in 2000. Maybe MS knew the name of the umpire who had taken that rare action,” Harper remarked.
Despite winning the Jamaica Test by 63 runs, Dhoni pointed out Daryl Harper’s dubious decisions at the press conference.
“If the correct decisions were made the game would have finished much earlier and I would have been in the hotel by now,” Dhoni had said at the post-match media conference.
Harper felt the former Indian captain should have been punished for criticizing the decisions.
“After the Test was won by India, MS was reported to have said to the media assembled that the players would have been back in their hotel rooms earlier if the umpires had made the correct decisions,” Harper said. “It’s true... but they would have been back earlier if the Indian fieldsmen had taken their catches as well. Sometimes I wished I could have attended those post-match press conferences on a regular basis in order to set the record straight.”
Harper was supposed to officiate in the remaining two Tests, but the controversy led him to leave the scene prematurely. He finished his umpiring career with 96 Tests.
“It did turn out to be my final Test, but my contract was due to expire two weeks later after the third Test in Dominica so the end was close, regardless of any comments by MS Dhoni or anyone else,” Harper said.
“I accepted that I had made two incorrect decisions during the match and some other moments could not be determined with the available technology. I didn’t have a clean sheet and that always disappointed me when it happened, but my decision-making statistics in Tests with India were second to none at the time,” he concluded.