Former India batsman Navjot Sidhu has weighed in on the Virat Kohli no-ball controversy that erupted during the IPL 2024 match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders last evening. Kohli was dismissed for a waist-high full toss by KKR pacer Harshit Rana, leaving the RCB batter enraged.

Kohli, the RCB team, and his fans believed he was not out because the ball was above waist height at the point of contact; however, the umpires and broadcaster ruled him out because Kohli was outside his crease and the ball’s trajectory would have caught him below his waist if he had not moved outside.

Justice means the truth must come out: Navjot Singh Sidhu on Virat Kohli’s dismissal

Former India opener Navjot Sidhu was not happy with the law and called for a change in the ruling. Sidhu, aiming to serve ‘justice’, first questioned lawmakers for granting batters the same height relaxation as bowlers, and then pointed fingers at officials for unofficially authorizing the use of beamers.

“Friends. Justice means the truth must come out. I am here not just for Virat Kohli but for RCB too. When you’ve made a rule by bringing a 6-inch height-based ideology, did you give the batter a 7-inch allowance?

That is number one. Number 2, the biggest point. You legalized a beamer. During my 30 years of playing and watching cricket, if a bowler missed a yorker and bowled a waist-high delivery, the batter would be left bamboozled and the bowler would apologize. If tomorrow a batter steps out and the ball is targetted on his head, won’t you even apologize for legalizing a beamer?” Sidhu said in a video.

The third point that Sidhu took up was that if Kohli hadn’t been batting inside the crease, the ball would have hit him at or below the waist. Sidhu asked decision-makers to examine the law closely and stressed that in this case, Kohli should have received the benefit of the doubt.

“Thirdly, at the point of impact, at the point of impact, the ball is at least a foot and a half above waist. And the batter is six inches outside the crease. Do you mean to say that the ball will dip 6 a foot and a half in the remaining six inches? Benefit of the doubt must go to the batter. Laws always change for the better. Laws are made to better the game. Change is not necessarily progress. This law needs to be carefully monitored, and amended. Kohli should have gotten the benefit of the doubt. He was not out,” he pointed out.