Former India wicketkeeper Surinder Khanna has commented on one of the most controversial moments of the Boxing Day Test, accusing the touring team of being “liars”.
The thrilling match went down to the final day with Nathan Lyon dismissing Mohammed Siraj in the 79th minute to seal a 184-run victory for the hosts.
But fury erupted around the MCG that same day when Yashasvi Jaiswal was controversially handed over following a review.
The moment even attracted the attention of Official Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajeev Shukla, who said: “Jaiswal was clearly not out.”
Pat Cummins, who took three wickets on the final day, bowled a shorter delivery to the 23-year-old batsman, who appeared to pass the ball behind him to Alex Carey.
The Australian wicketkeeper caught the ball, sparking massive celebrations from the home team, after Cummins’ team found it difficult to remove the Indian opener who had amassed a score of 84 runs.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was discharged following a controversial DRS check on Monday afternoon.
Upon review, Snicko did not show a shot when the ball passed through his glove, but the third official assessed that the ball had deflected.
Further reviews showed that Jaiswal had significantly changed the direction in which the ball was travelling.
Umpire Joel Wilson initially ruled out the catch before Australia reviewed the decision. Reviews showed that the ball had deflected noticeably after passing Jaiswal’s glove, although Snicko was inconclusive in his findings and did not show any spikes.
Later, third umpire Sharfuddoula overturned the decision on the field, leaving India at 7/140.
The decision did not go down well with much of the Indian camp, but Khanna has a different opinion and has criticized the Indian team for not moving forward.
“There is no point in creating controversy, they have proven from four angles that the ball hit the gloves and their pace also slowed down before Alex Carey caught it behind the stumps. Akash Deep also complained about something similar when he was caught. “Juthe log hai yeh” (These people are liars), first you have to play fair and then you will start winning,” Khanna told IANS.
‘When the bat is in your hand, how come you don’t know how to edge the ball? We played badly and we lost. What kind of batting are they doing? When the IPL comes, these players will make careers. Don’t play T20 cricket too aggressively and play positively. Let’s hope luck changes in the New Year (for the Indian team).’
The moment has sparked widespread comment across the cricket community, with Cummins defending the third umpire in his post-match press conference.
“I think it was clear I had hit it. I heard a noise and saw a deflection, so I was absolutely sure I had hit it,” the Australia captain told reporters.
‘As soon as we mentioned it, you could see him lower his head and basically acknowledge that I had hit him.
Former player Surinder Khanna took a brave stand to criticize the Indian team for not accepting the decision.
Pat Cummins has come to the defense of the third official since the incident.
The moment even caught the attention of Official Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajeev Shukla, who said: “Jaiswal was clearly not out.”
‘On the screen, you could see it hit. I don’t think anyone has full confidence in Ultra-edge and it didn’t really show much, but fortunately, there was other evidence showing that it no longer existed.
BBG Sports are the founders of snicko and the innovative ‘Hot Spot’ technology which was first used in the 2006 Ashes and has revolutionized the review system in cricket.
Warren Brennen, who founded the company and is its chief technology officer, revealed to The Sydney Morning Herald that snicko doesn’t always detect light touches or “indirect hits.”
“In those look-type shots, there’s rarely any noise,” Brennan told the outlet. “Quick shots aren’t Snicko’s strong point, but they are HotSpot’s.”
Hot Spot works using infrared cameras that can measure heat signatures obtained by friction on a player’s bat, gloves or pad. In fact, it is understood that the system took elements from technology used in military aircraft and tanks as part of its design.
While the system, which was designed in 2007, could have helped provide more conclusive evidence of whether Jaiswal had touched the ball, the system is not currently used for the Border-Gavaskar 2024-25 series.
This is because concerns have previously been raised about the accuracy of the system.
In 2013, Brennan claimed that coatings and tape on bats could fool the technology and nullify the thermal signature that the camera would normally pick up if a cricket ball hit the bat.
Hot Spot usage has subsequently declined and is now not widely used by international teams.