Wanindu Hasaranga blasts umpire over no-ball call, asks his to contemplate another profession

It was a dramatic end to a one-sided tour where Afghanistan finally managed to get a consolation win in the last T20I by 3 runs in a hard-fought encounter. Sri Lanka had an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the three-match series before the match and came in with the intention of clean sweeping the T20I too doing the same in the ODI series and the only Test match.

In a high-scoring encounter, Afghanistan finally managed to get a moral victory on the back of Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s scintillating 70-run knock in just 43 balls. But the win had an element of sheer luck as Afghanistan managed to get away with a blatant no-ball at the crucial juncture of the match which course have changed the course of the match on its head.

It all happened in the last over of the match when Sri Lanka needed just 11 runs on 3 balls when Wafadar Momand bowled a full toss delivery to Kamindu Mendis which looked like a beamer at the first instance but was given as a legal delivery by the leg umpire- Lyndon Hannibal. The batter even tried to ask for a review from the umpire but to no avail as according to the law you cannot take review for no-ball and wide calls.

Wanindu Hasaranga gives a mouthful to the umpire

The replay clearly showed that it was a no-ball and was quite high from the waist. The umpire made a big blunder which might have cost Sri Lanka the match. Sri Lankan captain Wanindu Hasaranga didn’t shy away from mentioning the incident in the post-match ceremony.

He even went a step further by suggesting the umpire take up another profession if he cannot call such blatant things right. Wanindu in the presentation said, ““That kind of thing shouldn’t happen in an international match.  If it had been close [to waist height], that’s not a problem. But a ball that’s going so high… it would have hit the batsman’s head if it had gone a little higher.”

He further added, “If you can’t see that, that umpire isn’t suited to international cricket. It would be much better if he did another job.”