It seems players are not the only ones prone to losing their cool in the ongoing 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) with umpire Nigel Llong damaging a door to the umpire’s room in frustration at the Chinnaswamy stadium.
The incident occurred on May 4 during Royal Challengers Bangalore’s final league clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad during the interval between the two innings.
It all stemmed from a contentious front-foot no-ball call by Llong in the final over of Sunrisers’ innings bowled by Umesh Yadav. After replays indicated that the Bangalore pacer had not overstepped, RCB skipper Virat Kohli and Llong were involved in a long animated discussion with the umpire ultimately sticking to his original decision.
The ICC Elite Panel umpire then subsequently kicked the door to the umpire’s room at the Chinnaswamy stadium during the innings’ break while causing it some minor damage.
Following the incident, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) reported the matter to BCCI’s Committee of Administrators (CoA) with Llong ultimately paying for the financial damage caused.
“It was an unfortunate incident,” KSCA secretary R Sudhakar Rao was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Llong is a part of ICC’s Elite Panel for Umpires.
“He gave a wrong no-ball decision in the match, and Virat went and spoke to him, and Umesh also spoke to him. So he might have been upset, and frustrated. He came back and kicked the door to the umpires’ room after the first innings. So there was a crack and a dent in the door. The glass didn’t break, fortunately.
“After the game, I found out, and I met the match referee. I spoke to him, and we had a discussion, and I have reported the matter to the CoA. It’s a BCCI event, so it is for them to make the decision, if any.”
The contentious no-ball call did not have any substantial bearing on the game in the end with RCB going on to record a four-wicket win.
Llong is one of the umpires slated to take charge of the IPL 2019 final which takes place at Hyderabad on May 12.
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