"It can also happen to India" - Harbhajan Singh on umpire's call denying Pakistan win against South Africa in 2023 World Cup clash

Harbhajan Singh has pointed out how Pakistan were denied a win after South Africa's Tabraiz Shamsi survived a close LBW call during the 2023 World Cup match between the two teams in Chennai on Friday.

The incident took place in the 46th over of South Africa's run chase. Shamsi was struck on the pads off Haris Rauf's bowling. The on-field umpire adjudged it not out. Pakistan went for the DRS, which showed the ball was kissing the leg stump.

The ball-tracking showed the umpire's call in wickets hitting. The Men in Green needed just one wicket to win the game, but ultimately suffered a one-wicket loss.

Harbhajan opined that while Pakistan were on the receiving end this time around, it could also happen to India in the ongoing World Cup.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, he explained:

"It can also happen to India. Imagine if India are in the final and Jasprit Bumrah is bowling. India need one wicket to win, while the opposition needs two runs. The ball hits the pad and the batters run two."

He added:

"The on-field umpire has given it not out, but India take a review, and it shows that the ball is clipping the stumps, but it is umpire's call. It happened to Pakistan here, but it can also happen to India or Australia as well."

Harbhajan claimed that Shamsi should have been given out, considering that the ball-tracking showed that the ball was clipping the stumps. He stated that the decision cost Pakistan the match.

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"Due to such useless rules, they made England win the World Cup in 2019" - Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh further stated that certain cricketing rules make no sense. He highlighted how England won the 2019 World Cup final against New Zealand on the boundary count rule after the Super Over ended in a tie.

He opined that New Zealand did not deserve to lose the final because of such a rule, and the two teams should have shared the trophy, adding:

"Due to such useless rules, they made England win the World Cup in 2019. Both teams scored the same amount of runs, but England were awarded the win on the basis of boundary count."

He continued:

"If you are giving so much importance to boundaries, then just remove singles and doubles from the game. Yes, they changed the particular rule after that, but New Zealand lost the final."

Notably, the boundary count rule was later scrapped by the ICC. Now, in the event of a tied Super Over in a semi-final or a final of an ICC event, the two teams would continue to play Super Overs until there is a winner.