Nitin Menon
Nitin Menon (Credits: Twitter)

Umpire Nitin Menon is in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. The Indian umpire is currently officiating in the ongoing third Test between India and Australia in Indore and could not have asked for a worse start to the match.

Incidentally, Indore, the venue of the ongoing game, is also his home ground and things have not started on a good note for him. In the very first over of the match, he made two huge blunders to give Rohit Sharma two lifelines. On the very first ball of the game, Mitchell Starc got the ball nip across the India skipper and kiss the outside edge before wicketkeeper Alex Carey completed the catch.

Also Read: IND vs AUS 2023: Australia Distraught As Poor Umpiring Decisions Cost Them Rohit Sharma’s Wicket Twice In 1st Over

Australian players appealed for a caught behind only to see Nitin Menon shaking his head in disagreement. The visitors also decided against reviewing the decision only to regret it. Replays showed a small spike on Ultraedge as Rohit survived.

Nitin Menon with Virat Kohli
Nitin Menon with Virat Kohli (Credits: Twitter)

Three balls later, Nitin Menon was at it again. After Starc beat Rohit’s inside edge with a swinging delivery, the ball kissed the pad and went to the wicketkeeper. The tourists appealed for a lbw decision but Nitin Menon once again gave his decision in the batsman’s favour.

For the second time in a row, Australia decided against reviewing only to realise that they were wrong. Hawkeye suggested the ball was crashing into off stump, meaning the opener would have returned to the pavilion if Steve Smith had gone for a review.

Nitin Menon slammed by fans:

Soon after Nitin Menon’s huge blunders, several fans accused him of being biased towards Virat Kohli and favouring Rohit Sharma. The fans pointed out his controversial decision in the Delhi Test to adjudge Kohli out as they slammed him. He also faced criticism from other fans for his poor umpiring.

Here are some of the reactions: