Andrew McDonald, the Australian coach, broke his silence on Mohammad Rizwan’s controversial dismissal in the Melbourne Test. While speaking to the local media, he supported the decision of the third umpire Richard Kettleborough, stating that Rizwan was definitely out. He expressed surprise at the statement of team director Mohammad Hafeez, saying that the Australian cricketers, including the umpires, are confident that Rizwan was “definitely out”.
McDonald also questioned whether they could improve the use of technology to challenge decisions in specific situations. Earlier at the end of the match, team director Mohammad Hafeez had also expressed concern about the umpiring decisions, stating that there were very contradictory decisions by the umpires and it needs to be addressed as a wrong call by an umpire could result in a loss for the other team.
Mohammad Hafeez also stated that at the end of the match, he had asked Rizwan if the ball hit the glove to which he replied in the negative, saying that the ball had hit between his thigh pad and glove.
On the other hand, Indian media reports suggest that the Pakistan Cricket Board is discussing the matter with the International Cricket Council’s governing body regarding Mohammad Rizwan’s controversial dismissal. It is important to note that the controversial dismissal of wicketkeeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan in the Melbourne Test match has raised the possibility of transferring the role of the third umpire from human to artificial intelligence.