'Umpire bhi paise le rahe...': Sehwag's blunt take on Kishan's controversial dismissal; Sidhu takes aim at official

Virender Sehwag and Navjot Singh Sindhu on Ishan Kishan's dismissal. (Photo: JioHotstar)

Former Indian cricket players Virender Sehwag and Navjot Singh Sidhu have divergent opinions over the strange dismissal of Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman Ishan Kishan during Wednesday's game against the Mumbai Indians at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. The Sunrisers lost six of their eight games this season, dropping them to ninth place in the standings.

When Ishan tried to glance a leg-side length delivery from Deepak Chahar on the first ball of the third over during Sunrisers' innings, he failed to make proper contact and subsequently walked off the ground, even though none of the Mumbai Indians appealed.

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Chahar and skipper Hardik Pandya appeared more concerned about the umpire adjudging the delivery as a wide ball, while wicketkeeper Ryan Rickelton, who retrieved the ball behind with ease, was unsure whether to appeal for caught behind.

The visuals actually suggested that Vinod Seshan, the umpire, was confused by the delivery. He had called it a wide at first, but as soon as he saw Ishan leave, he changed his mind and raised his finger.

Fairplay or facepalm?
Ishan Kishan walks... but UltraEdge says 'not out!' What just happened?!Watch the LIVE actionhttps://t.co/sDBWQG63Cl #IPLonJioStar#SRHvMI | LIVE NOW on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 Hindi & JioHotstar! pic.twitter.com/bQa3cVY1vG Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) April 23, 2025

Hardik commended the SRH hitter for displaying the "spirit of cricket," but his gesture backfired when a playback revealed that the Ultra Edge had no spike. After seeing the footage, Ishan, who was dismissed for only one run, was observed cursing in the dressing room.

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Sidhu instead attributed the umpire's decision to flag it out in spite of the Mumbai players' lack of appeal to him.

Sidhu’s post on X read: “Buying trouble is as easy as pie , but the carrying charges run pretty high … have you ever seen an umpire rule someone out without an appeal ?”

Buying trouble is as easy as pie , but the carrying charges run pretty high have you ever seen an umpire rule someone out without an appeal ? pic.twitter.com/xhpG8mdB9R Navjot Singh Sidhu (@sherryontopp) April 23, 2025

Sehwag, however, questioned Ishan's sincerity before sternly reminding him that he is not compensated for doing the umpire's duties. Sehwag referred to it as a simple case of "brain fade," arguing that Mumbai would have chosen a review if Ishan had waited for the umpire's call, which could have made it obvious he was not out.

"Many times, the mind fails to work at that moment. It was brain fade. Ruk toh jaa. Umpire bhi paise le rahe hai (Stop at least and wait for the umpire to make his decision. He is also charging some amount of money for his job). Let him do his work. I could not understand this honesty. Had it been an edge, it would have been understandable because that would be in the spirit of the game. But it was neither out, the umpire was unsure, and you started walking off all of a sudden. Then even the umpire is in a dilemma. Rocky Ponting used to say that my work was to bat, the umpire's work is to decide on the dismissal," he said on Cricbuzz.

Ishan's dismal performance in the 2025 IPL thus continued. He has scored 33 runs at a mere 5.5 in the following seven innings after his incredible century in SRH's season opener against the Rajasthan Royals.