Former Indian Cricketer feels that Cricket will not need umpires in a few years

In the last few years, Cricket has evolved in a lot of aspects. With the advent of T20 cricket and the introduction of technology, the game has progressed quite quickly. There have been a lot of changes in the game but the role of umpires has stayed constant from time immemorial. The introduction of technology has rather made the job easier, but their on-field decisions at crucial stages decide the fate of many important matches.

However, former Indian T20 League player Rajat Bhatia has made a bold statement on the role of the umpires in a few years from now. During the conversation, Bhatia was informed that Harbhajan Singh has been discontent with the level of umpiring in the tournament so far, to which the former slow-medium pace bowler replied –

“Yes, I completely agree with Harbhajan’s statement. Even I feel that there will be no need for umpires in a few years from now. This job is going to end. The reason why I am saying this is that if technology is making every decision, bowlers simply have to bowl and if it’s out, it will be given out and if it’s not out, the decision will be made accordingly.”

This statement from Bhatia came after a few controversial Umpiring decisions during the first innings of the Rajasthan vs Bangalore match. From dismissal decisions being overturned to shocking no-ball calls, the match saw it all.

Two decisions of the on-filed umpire were overturned after the decisions were reviewed. There was also a catch taken by Virat Kohli that was referred to confirm if it was clean or not. Then there was a no-ball call in the 20^th over of the innings that even shocked the commentators. The on-field umpires faced sever criticism for their below-par umpiring.