Ajinkya Rahane called back from dressing room to bat again, Shardul Thakur asked to go, umpires' decision sparks debate

The umpiring standards in domestic cricket came under the spotlight once again during the Mumbai vs Jammu and Kashmir Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match at the BKC ground in Mumbai. In the rarest of rare incidents, Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane was called back by the on-field umpires almost five minutes after he was dismissed and entered the dressing room as the third umpire informed that the bowler had overstepped. Ajinkya Rahane making his way back into the middle

The incident happened in the 25th over of Mumbai's second innings on day 2. J&K pacer Umar Nazir banged it in short and caught Rahane off guard. He was cramped for room while playing the pull shot and only managed to glove it to the keeper. The drama, however, began after that. Rahane swiftly made his way into the dressing room and the next batter Shardul Thakur walked in to bat but the umpires were not done checking the no-ball.

It took some time for the replays to load and when the third umpire confirmed that Nazir had overstepped, the on-field umpires asked Thakur to go back and instructed Rahane to make his way back into the middle.

When Rahane arrived at the crease again, the umpires were seen telling him that they had asked him to wait because of the no-ball check, but the Mumbai captain couldn't hear.

According to the laws of the game, "An umpire shall intervene if satisfied that a batter, not having been given out, has left the wicket under a misapprehension of being out. The umpire intervening shall call and signal Dead ball to prevent any further action by the fielding side and shall recall the batter.

"A batter may be recalled at any time up to the instant when the ball comes into play for the next delivery, unless it is the final wicket of the innings, in which case it should be up to the instant when the umpires leave the field."

Rahane was out Nazir's next over thanks to an outstanding catch at mid-off by J&K captain Paras Dogra. Nazir pitched it full and just outside the off stump and Rahane went for an uppish drive. Dogra, standing at mid-off, took a couple of quick steps to his left and flew to his left to grab a stunning one-handed catch.

Before Rahane's dismissal, there were a couple of instances of unsatisfactory umpiring. Shreyas Iyer was given out when it appeared that he had clearly nicked the ball to the keeper, but the batter was given out four overs later despite him complaining about the legitimacy of the catch taken. Rahane, who was at the non-striker's end, was also seen having a chat with the umpires.

Meanwhile, J&K strengthened their grip on the match by once again running through Mumbai's famed batting line-up. None of Rohit Sharma, Yashavi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Rahane and Shivam Dube were able to register a significant score.

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