Legendary Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden faced backlash from fans after making controversial comments during the fifth T20I match between India and Australia in Bengaluru. The match was a closely contested one, with Australia needing 10 runs to win from the final over. India captain Suryakumar Yadav entrusted young pacer Arshdeep Singh with the ball.
The controversy began when the first ball of the over was a bouncer, and Matthew Wade believed it was above his head. However, the umpire did not signal a wide for Australia. Hayden, who was commentating on the game, expressed his disagreement with the umpire’s decision. After reviewing the incident on replay, he stated that Wade had every right to be upset with the call.
Hayden remarked, “You can see why he is upset; that’s definitely a wide. Way over his head. It has to be about his position as well. He was standing up on that ball, and it was still over his head.”
The controversy continued on the penultimate delivery of the over when a shot from Nathan Ellis hit umpire Virender Sharma after Arshdeep failed to catch it. The commentators then discussed the possibility of the ball reaching the boundary if it had not hit the umpire.
“The umpire has done his job for the second time this over. Have a look at this. This time, it’s the one in front, not on square. They are tag-teaming here,” Hayden commented during the discussion.
Ultimately, Australia lost the match by six runs. Hayden’s comments received significant criticism from fans on social media, who believed that as a well-known figure, he should not make such remarks about umpires.
Overall, Hayden’s controversial comments during the India vs. Australia T20I match stirred up a lot of discussion and debate among cricket fans.
