Former India chief selector MSK Prasad refuted ex-umpire Daryl Umpire's claim that in a meeting of theirs, he told Harper that the great Sachin Tendulkar agreed with his contentious LBW call during the 1999 Adelaide Test.
A bouncer from Australia pacer Glenn McGrath kept low, which Tendulkar ducked to and received on his shoulder. McGrath appealed and Harper, as per his own estimation of the trajectory, gave Tendulkar out in what remains one of the most controversial dismissals, leading to a huge media uproar here in India.
In a recent interview given to Asianet Newsable, Harper defended his decision, saying he still feels it was "correct" and is "extremely proud" of it. Harper also said that he met Prasad, who kept wickets in that Test, two years back and the latter told him that even Tendulkar nodded in agreement of the call.
However, Prasad debunked that claim, adding that when Harper met him, his remarks were completely different.
"Daryl had been carrying the guilt about the decision for quite long. He met me in the lunchroom during the 2018 (India-Australia) Test series. He actually asked me ‘what was the feeling of Sachin’ when he was adjudged LBW, which had erupted into a huge controversy," Prasad told Mumbai Mirror.
"Then I told him whether you declared him out or not out, Sachin is not a person who will question umpires. That is why he went on to become a role model for all of us and the God of Indian Cricket," he added.
Prasad said, "the overall impression in the dressing room was that of shock" regarding the dismissal and Harper's call in what was anyway turning out to be a miserable tour down under for the Indian team.
