Umpire Paul Reiffel of Australia came under heavy scrutiny for his poor standards of officiating during the ongoing 3rd Test between England and India, being played at Lord’s. India reached 58/4 at stumps on Day 4 after the Indian bowling attack had reduced England to a mere 192 in their second innings.
Veteran and former India spinner R Ashwin has made scathing comments about umpire Paul Reiffel, describing how "difficult" it was to deal with him when he was playing.
On Day 4 of the second session, India nearly got rid of England batsman Joe Root as the veteran missed Mohammed Siraj's incisive delivery. The DRS returned "umpire's call" on impact, forcing the visitors to restrain their frustration even though they were adamant that they had the wicket in the bag.
"My experience with Paul Reiffel has been that you always have to talk to him. You have to set him up. I'm not saying that you have to tell him, 'give me the wicket'. Whenever India bowls, he (Paul Reiffel) feels that it's not out. When India bats, he feels that it's always out. If this was the case with every other team and not just India, then the ICC will have to take a look at it,” Ashwin said on his Hindi YouTube channel.
Ashwin made a humorous remark about another of his decisions, but his complaints about the match official didn't stop there. Ashwin pointed to an image showing the ball edging past the bat in a DRS check without coming into contact.
"From between the bat and the ball, I own a car, a sedan, which can pass through the gap. It is clear that it’s not out,” he said.
Further venting his frustration, Ashwin shared his father's comment that India can never win a match when Paul Reiffel is the umpire.
"Whenever Paul Reiffel comes, we never win," Ashwin recounted his father's words.
India needs 135 more runs to win, and England needs 6 more wickets to complete an exciting win. KL Rahul is at the crease unbeaten with Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar left to bat.
