To err is human but to lose your cool is not Mahendra Singh Dhoni. It, however, does prove that he is, after all, a mortal and he too is prone to a lapse. The Chennai Super Kings skipper, whose unique way of keeping a monk-like calm even during times of extreme pressure has earned him the sobriquet of Captain Cool, lost his cool for once. 

On Thursday, a furious Dhoni walked on to the ground to confront umpire Ulhas Gandhe on a waist-high full-toss bowled by Rajasthan Royals’ Ben Stokes. With the match precariously balanced, a no-ball would have tilted things in CSK’s favour and Dhoni was convinced that it was a no-ball. However, what must have piqued him was the fact that Gandhe seemed to have raised his hand indicating it to be a no-ball before later reversing his decision.

Whatever the issue was, it was absolutely needless for Dhoni to walk on to the field of play and confront the umpire. Yes, it was a tense situation and everything happened at the spur of the moment. But for a former Indian captain who is known for maintaining his calm, this was unwarranted. No wonder a bunch of former international cricketers are not amused. 

What IPL administrators should also understand is that bad umpiring can spoil a match. Time and again, the tournament has thrown up instances where the quality of umpiring has been less than desirable. There have been times when captains like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were vocal against umpiring decisions. It is high time that the BCCI wakes up and takes a call on this.

It will be a folly to leave matches featuring high-profile international cricketers in the hands of umpires inexperienced at the highest level, to please associations. This will definitely spoil the image of the game. Especially during a time when every ball bowled and every ball hit is under the anti-corruption unit’s glare, faulty umpiring may cast a shadow on the game.