India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin emerged as one of the strongest critics of umpiring following the Lord's Test match between India and England.
England defeated India by 22 runs as the visitors fell short while chasing a target of 193 runs. Reacting after the conclusion of the Lord's Test, Ashwin alleged that umpire Paul Reiffel was biased against India.
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The former Indian cricketer believed that the Australian umpire's calls went against India several times, while England ended up on the right side of many of the calls.
See what Ashwin said about umpire Reiffel's decisions. TSN also analyzes whether the former India off-spinner's claims hold up using the available data.
Ravichandran Ashwin unhappy with umpire Paul Reiffel in IND vs ENG Tests
One key incident occurred on Day 4, when an LBW appeal against Joe Root off Mohammed Siraj’s bowling was turned down.
Siraj hit Root on the pads right in front, but ball-tracking showed it just clipping the leg stump. The England batter survived because it was an "umpire's call" decision.
Another moment of frustration came when Shubman Gill was given out caught behind off Brydon Carse. When the Indian skipper took the review to challenge the decision, the replay showed a massive gap between bat and ball. The decision was eventually overturned.
Citing the above decisions on his YouTube channel Ash Ki Baat, the former India spinner shared his experiences about the Aussie umpire from his playing days.
"My experience with Paul Reiffel is that you need to talk to him. You need to set him up. I am not saying that you ask him to give it out. But he has this thing...whenever India bowl, he feels it's not out, whenever India bat, he feels it's out."
"If this is happening not just against India but every team, then the ICC needs to look at the umpiring," he added.
Ashwin revealed that while watching the match, his father also noticed a similar pattern in Reiffel’s decision-making.
"This wasn't the first time (a wrong decision was given). My dad was watching the match with me, and he was saying, 'If Paul Reiffel is there, we won't win," he concluded.
Was Paul Reiffel biased against India at Lord's?
Contrary to Ashwin's claims, the data suggests a different story. Reiffel's decisions had favoured the Indians much more than the English.
According to TOI, 11 decisions were reviewed during Reiffel's umpiring. India reviewed twice when England was batting, of which one was overturned, while the other remained an umpire's call.
On the other hand, a review was overturned in India's favour when India was batting; another review was judged as not out, again in India's favor, when England were desperate for a wicket.
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Adding that to the other instances from the game, seven out of eleven reviews involving Reiffel's umpiring ultimately went India's way, compared to England's 4.
Historically, India has won 23 out of 39 international matches with the Australian as the umpire, a win percentage of 58.97%.