In an unsavoury incident, Chhattisgarh captain Mohammad Kaif led his team off the field after the umpires had turned down an appeal for a catch in the Vijay Hazare Trophy Group D match against Karnataka at the Jadavpur University ground here on Monday.
At a hearing conducted after the match, match referee Nitin Goel held Kaif responsible for the ugly episode. Goel served the Chhattisgarh skipper a warning and ordered deduction of his match fees.
Chasing 200 to win, Karnataka was three for no loss when Mayank Agarwal, on one, edged one behind off Omkar Verma. The Chhattisgarh team appealed vociferously for a catch.
Umpire Virender Sharma consulted his on-field colleague at square leg Umesh Dubey before giving his decision in favour of the batsman.
Instinctively, Kaif urged the umpires to seek a television referral. However, the umpires preferred to stick to their decision.
Shockingly, Kaif ordered his teammates to leave the field in protest of the decision.
Almost the whole team left the field forcing Goel to intervene.
Goel, who understandably had access to the video footage of the action in the middle, managed to pacify Kaif within minutes following which the Chhattisgarh team resumed play.
The incident, which held up play for eight minutes, was not an ideal example for the younger cricketers of Chhattisgarh, playing domestic cricket in its debut season.
Besides, it was a disappointing episode for the sparse gathering at the ground.
