Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pacer Reece Topley made a weird claim regarding the measurement of players at the crease for waist-high no-ball calls in the IPL 2024. This came after the controversial way RCB batter Virat Kohli was dismissed in a recent match against KKR in Kolkata.
Virat Kohli of RCB was furious after being dismissed by KKR’s Harshit Rana on Sunday, April 21. Kohli was caught off guard in the third over of the Indian Premier League match at Eden Gardens when he managed a leading edge against a waist-high full ball by Rana and was out-caught and bowled. The on-field umpires referred the decision to the third umpire to determine the height of the whole throw.
The TV displays revealed Virat Kohli was out of his crease and connected the ball slightly over waist height when if he had remained in his crease, the ball would have dipped below. Following that data-driven approach, umpires affirmed Virat Kohli’s dismissal and informed the batter of the decision.
Virat Kohli was obviously out of his crease: Reece Topley
However, RCB bowler Reece Topley was adamant that despite Virat Kohli being out of the crease when the ball hit his bat, the ball was still over his waist high, even if he had been inside the crease.
Reece Topley made an odd argument, claiming that no one would have predicted something like this to happen because measurements are recorded when batters are standing at their crease.
“Those measurements are brought in to get rid of a grey area, and then you have something today that no one had thought of. He (Kohli) was obviously out of his crease and the ball was over his hip high, then obviously he was out of his crease down the wicket. The measurement was taken with Virat inside the crease so it’s a bit of a grey area. It’s a fine margin and would be spoken about in a game where the victory margin is just one run,” Topley said in the press conference.
When asked for his personal opinion on Kohli’s removal, Topley concluded that the decision was difficult and that the RCB camp believed Kohli should not have been dismissed.
“I can throw this back to you saying what was your opinion. It’s tough…two people can have two different opinions. In our camp, we feel like it is a grey area, like uncharted territory, so probably you need more clarifications in the rules.” concluded Reece Topley.
