IPL 2024

‘Lack of respect shown for the spirit of cricket’ – Daryl Harper criticizes MS Dhoni’s on-field behavior with officials in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2023

Former Cricket Governing Body umpire Daryl Harper criticized Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni for disrespecting the rules of the game during IPL 2023 Qualifier 1 between Gujarat Titans and Chennai on Tuesday, May 23 at MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Before the 16th over of the second innings of the game, Dhoni got into a disagreement with the umpires. After taking a brief break from the pitch, CSK seamer Matheesha Pathirana was not permitted to quickly on the pitch to bowl. Any player who has been off the pitch for longer than eight minutes must return to it for the same length of time before entering the bowl, according to the regulations.

However, Dhoni got into an argument with the on-field umpires only five minutes after his return and attempted to consume time by bringing the Sri Lankan seamer back into the attack. Following the incident, Dhoni received criticism from Daryl Harper for his lack of respect for the on-field umpires and the Game’s Spirit.

Chennai Super Kings advances to IPL 2023 final 

“Of course, MS Dhoni wasted time to allow his preferred bowling option to deliver the vital sixteenth over. That’s the only conclusion that I can draw from that disappointing spectacle. The issue for me is the lack of respect shown for the Spirit of cricket and for the directions of the umpires. There were other options for the captain but they were ignored,” Harper was quoted as saying on MyKhel.

The 71-year-old went on to say that it’s irritating to see that individuals would do everything to succeed and that perhaps some people are greater than the law.

“Maybe some people are bigger than the law or in this case the Spirit of cricket. It’s always disappointing to see the lengths that some people will go to in order to win,” the former Australian umpire asserted.

Talking about the game, CSK defeated Gujarat Titans by 15 runs to go to the IPL 2023 final, where it will face off against another team on May 28 in Ahmedabad. After being given the opportunity to bat, CSK produced 172/7 thanks to an outstanding performance by Ruturaj Gaikwad (60 off 44). In response, GT was bowled out for 157, as a result of the combined efforts of all the CSK bowlers, advancing the team to its 10th IPL championship game.