Shubman Gill’s dismissal: Why did on-field umpires not give a soft signal?

The incident occurred when a well-set Shubman Gill, batting on 18, faced Scott Bolland in his 4th over. A delivery from Bolland around the 5th stump line caught the edge of Gill and flew to Cameron Green at gully. Green’s reaction suggested he had taken the catch cleanly, but replays suggested the ball may have hit the ground as the Aussie took the catch.

Even after checking the replays from multiple camera angles, it wasn’t clear if the ball had actually touched the ground which led third umpire Richard Kettleborough to give the decision in Australia’s favour.

Cricket fans were also left puzzled as to why the on-field umpires did not give a soft signal on the Shubman Gill catch, given that if the umpires had given the Indian batsman not out, the third umpire would have to stand by that decision in case of inconclusive evidence.

The International Cricket Council explained in a blog post on Saturday why the on-field umpires did not give the soft signal on the Shubman Gill wicket. Cricket’s governing body confirmed that the soft signal rule was removed from the ICC Playing Conditions earlier this month and the first match after the change was England’s match against Ireland on 1 June.

ICC also quoted Men’s Cricket Committee member Sourav Ganguly as saying, “Soft signals have been discussed at previous cricket committee meetings over the last couple of years,” 

“The committee deliberated this at length and concluded that soft signals were unnecessary and at times confusing since referrals of catches may seem inconclusive in replays.” Ganguly added 

India have so far lost three wickets for 164 runs in pursuit of a mammoth 444-run target at The Oval. Rohit Sharma’s side will have to break a 122-year-old record for the highest fourth-innings run chase at The Oval if they are to get their hands on the World Test Championship Mace.

Updated: 11 Jun 2023, 09:39 AM IST