Sanju Samson and the TV umpire were slammed by Pakistani experts and fans for controversy over Fakhar Zaman’s catch off Hardik Pandya’s bowling. This happened in the recent Asia Cup 2025 Super Fours match between India and Pakistan in Dubai on September 21.
Fakhar Zaman flew to 15 runs in 9 balls before Pandya fooled him with a slower ball, which he edged, and the ball landed in keeper Sanju Samson’s gloves. The catch was a low one, and the on-field umpires sent it to the TV umpire for the final decision. Replays showed the ball bouncing with Samson’s fingers under it and into his gloves.
After multiple replays, the TV umpire gave Zaman out, and the opener was livid and didn’t believe that he was given out. He even complained to his team’s official in the dressing room. Former Pakistani players Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram agreed that Zaman was not out and shared the same on commentary.
Shoaib Akhtar and Misbah-ul-Haq, among others, disapproved of the choice. The former captain believed the umpire had hurried his ruling, even when the renowned fast bowler challenged the ICC to display film from all 26 camera angles. But both were certain that the ball had made contact with the ground before it got to Samson's gloves.
It was a clean screen grab, though, as new video shared on social media revealed Samson's gloves were in fact below the ball. The third umpire's call was amply supported by the zoomed-in video.
Salman Agha, the captain of Pakistan, had earlier questioned whether the catch that removed Fakhar and stopped Pakistan's momentum was legal.
"I don't know about the decision. It's obviously the umpire's job. Umpires can make mistakes. And I have no problem with that. But it does look like it bounced before it was carried to the keeper. But I might be wrong. I don't know. You can say the way he was batting, if he batted throughout the power play, we probably would have scored 190. But yeah, that's the umpire's call. And they can make mistakes. I don't know. To me, it bounced before it reached the keeper,” Agha said in the post-match presser.
