British umpire Nigel Llong to officiate in IPL final

Nigel Llong

It is learned that the Committee of Administrators (CoA), in consultation with the IPL Operations team, has allowed Llong to officiate despite an official complaint lodged by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).

"Nigel Llong's performance has been one of the best in the IPL. It was a moment's outburst and can happen with any human being. He realized his mistake and paid from his own pocket. So the matter ends there," a senior BCCI official, privy to the development, told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Umpire Llong had an argument with RCB skipper Virat Kohli and fast bowler Umesh Yadav after a contentious no-ball decision in the final over of the Sunrisers innings. He had then kicked the door of the umpires' room at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and caused a dent.

The umpire apologized for his misconduct and paid Rs 5000 for the damages, but the KSCA wanted sanctions against him.
"We have reported the matter to the Committee of Administrators (CoA) and hopefully action will be taken against Nigel Llong. If the players are punished for their misdemeanor and fined their match fees then why not the umpires. I didn't speak to umpire Llong but I spoke to match referee Narayanan Kutty. I am hopeful the CoA will take action," KSCA secretary Sudhakar Rao had said after the incident.

Llong, after the controversy in Bengaluru, had a good Qualifier 1 in Chennai in which Mumbai Indians defeated Chennai Super Kings.

"The standard of umpiring in this current Indian Premier League has been sub-standard and especially the Indian umpires mostly have been below-par in pressure situations. We have S Ravi, who is at the bottom of the Elite Panel and when the fresh list of ICC Elite Panel is released, he won't be there. In a big match like IPL final, you will need a match official like Llong," the official said.

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