World Cup 2023: 'They can go nuts', Wasim Akram calls out fans over the wide call during Ind vs Ban match

Former Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram has played down the controversy surrounding the wide ball that was not declared by umpire Richard Kettleborough during the World Cup match between India and Bangladesh.

Akram called the controversy a needless one as it was a genuine mistake, with people having 'nothing to do' making a big fuss out of it.

“Looks like one of those genuine mistakes [by the umpire]. It was a wide ball for sure. [On the controversy] This is for people who have nothing to do, who live off this cr*p and then they can go nuts with it," said Akram during a discussion on A Sports.

During the closing stages of the match, Indian no. 3 Virat Kohli was gunning for his 48th ODI century. With two runs required, Kohli was on 97 and required a boundary to get to the milestone. However, left-arm off-spinner Nasum Ahmed, bowling the 42nd over, darted one down the leg, which, in most cases, would have been declared a wide.

Kohli, who anticipated a wide, gave a disgusted look to the bowler but umpire Richard Kettleborough remained unmoved. The English umpire suggested that since Kohli had moved slightly inside the stumps, the ball wasn't eligible to be called wide.

According to an amendment in MCC Law 22.1 in 2022, a wide should be evaluated on the basis of the position of the batter, the location of the striker at any point since the bowler started their run-up, and whether the ball would have passed wide of the striker in a typical batting stance.

However, controversy soon erupted on social media, where netizens believed that Kettleborough didn't give the wide to curtail the rather 'unsportsmanlike' habit of cricketers to dart wides at the end of innings to stop batters from reaching milestones.

Bangladesh captain denies any malice

Quizzed after the match, Bangladesh stand-in skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto clarified that there was no intentional attempt to bowl a wide ball.

“No, no. It was unintentional. We didn’t plan that. Bowlers didn’t mean to bowl a wide ball. We aimed to play a good game. Also, Tamim batted well. He had a tough time in recent matches, but today’s performance was impressive. The team hopes for more significant innings from him. I wish he gets the chance to play a bigger innings in the future,” Shanto said in the post-match press conference.

Despite the controversy, India coasted to a comfortable seven-wicket win and now sit second on the points table.

(With inputs from agencies)

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