Nicolas Pooran, the MI Emirates wicketkeeper, drew heavy criticism on Tuesday. The controversy arose during an International League T20 (ILT20) match against the Desert Vipers at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Pooran chose not to stump out batter Max Holden, even though Holden was well out of his crease.
This surprising incident happened on the final ball of the 16th over while Desert Vipers were batting. Holden danced down the track against a Rashid Khan googly and was beaten on the outside edge. He remained outside the crease for a long time. Pooran had plenty of time to stump him out, but the West Indies star decided against it.
Pooran's decision surprised many as the video went viral on social media. A ball later, Holden retired himself out after a struggling 37-ball 42. Viper's choice to retire Holden was completely within the cricketing rules. Nowadays, if a team feels that a certain player is struggling, they take him out and replace him with another batter who can hit the ball hard.
While many may call Pooran's act a tactical play, many, mostly fans, speculated it was match fixing and called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to intervene immediately.
What happened in MI Emirates vs Desert Vipers match?
Batting first, Desert Vipers managed 159/4 in 20 overs on a track that was difficult to bat on. Fakhar Zaman scored 35 at the top of the order. Holden came out to bat at no.3 after Andries Gous was retired hurt. Along with Zaman, Holden put on 51 runs in 37 balls to help the team towards a respectable total.
In fact, Holden was the top scorer for the Vipers. In reply, MI Emirates lost Jonny Bairstow in the second over before Muhammad Waseem (24), Tom Banton (34) and Pooran (31) rescued the side. However, once the trio was out, wickets continued to fall for MI Emirates as none of the remaining batters could stand up to David Payne, who finished with four wickets.
Ultimately, MI Emirates fell short by just one run.
