'Dhoni ignores the spirit of cricket'

Daryl Harper, the former ICC umpire, has called MS Dhoni a “repeat offender” against the spirit of cricket and said the Indian captain was “above the game”. His comments follow Dhoni’s decision not to recall England middle-order batsman Jonny Bairstow, who was controversially given out caught at silly mid-off in the second Test in Mumbai. Gautam Gambhir took a sharp catch off a leading edge from Bairstow but there was some doubt about whether the ball touched the helmet grille before Gambhir was able to complete the catch. Under the rules of the game, a batsman cannot be given out if the ball strikes the fielder’s helmet. [caption id=“attachment_537571” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  MS Dhoni has never been shy about criticising umpires and the standard of umpiring[/caption] “It is a clear breach of the laws of cricket, and any national captain worth his weight in salt – or any other condiment – would have immediately withdrawn the appeal and allowed Bairstow to continue his innings,” Harper told Sports360. “But this captain is a repeat offender when it comes to ignoring the spirit of cricket,” he said. Harper listed a number of instances in which he believed Dhoni’s behaviour had violated the spirit of the game, including after the first Test when Dhoni said India had been forced to take more than 10 wickets in the second innings and when he made similar comments in Jamaica in 2011. However, the most glaring example, according to Harper, was the dismissal of Ian Bell during India’s tour of England in 2011. Though Bell was eventually recalled, Harper said that decision was taken despite Dhoni’s objections. He claimed the umpires asked Dhoni three times to withdraw his appeal but Dhoni refused and that it took a team meeting and a player vote that overturned Dhoni’s decision before Bell could be recalled. That attitude, according to Harper, suggests Dhoni believes himself to be above the game. Harper was a Test umpire from 1998 to 2011. He was a member of the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires from 2002 until 2011. He retired following complaints from India about the quality of his umpiring in the first Test against the West Indies in Jamaica last year. Subsequently Dave Richardson, then the ICC Cricket manager, said Harper had received “unfair criticism” for his performance in that match.