"Had they been a bit more attentive..." - Domestic legend not happy with umpiring standards in Ranji Trophy

Jammu and Kashmir captain Paras Dogra was not happy with the standard of umpiring in their Ranji Trophy 2024-25 fixture against Mumbai. Dogra, playing his 141st first-class game, wanted the umpires to be “more attentive”.

On day two, Shreyas Iyer got a clear edge but the on-field umpire S Ravi turned down the appeal from J&K. Mumbai captain Ajinkya Rahane was also called back from the pavilion after being given out.

The right-hander was caught down the leg side by J&K wicketkeeper Kanhaiya Wadhawan in the 25th over. Shardul Thakur had already walked out to the crease but that's when on-field umpires declared it a no-ball and called Rahane back to the field. The no-ball was never shown on JioCinema, and Cricbuzz reported that only the third umpire had access to the footage.

"What to say. This has been going on for years and there's nothing much that we can do about it. Umpires are human after all and can make mistakes. But had they been a bit more attentive, it would have been fun," the Times of India quoted Dogra as saying.

"But it's part and parcel of the game. That's why they got DRS. It would have been a good experience to have DRS here, but we can't control it since there are 10-15 games happening simultaneously. So, it does not make any difference.”

Dogra, who is playing his last season in domestic cricket, heaped heavy praise on Shardul Thakur, who helped Mumbai make a good comeback on day two. Mumbai looked down and out at one stage, leading by only five runs with just four wickets to spare, but that’s when Thakur (113* off 119) and Tanush Kotian (58* off 119) stepped up and put on an unbeaten stand of 173 runs for the eighth wicket. 

Thanks to them, Mumbai ended day two at 274/7, leading by 188 runs. "Shardul played really well. The ball stopped moving, so that had an impact. That's when we tried doing something different and tried out bouncers, which did not work. It was one of the best innings (in domestic cricket) that I have seen."

Dogra feels anything around 250 would be chaseable in the final innings. "You have to be patient. Still the wicket is playing out well, they are 188 runs ahead. We will have to bat well and I am hopeful. We scored 200 in the last innings and the wicket is getting better, so there's hope.”