In a recent video on his YouTube channel, former India spinner R Ashwin accused ICC umpire Paul Reiffel of having an anti-India bias, saying his decisions always seem to go against India following several contentious calls during the Lord's Test. A 'review' of Reiffel's DRS numbers in matches involving India, however, says otherwise.
The Lord's Test was the most hotly contested in the England-India series so far, with several instances of sledging audible through the stump mic, and multiple instances of players getting involved in heated arguments. To go with that, the umpiring was also under the scanner with as many as 15 reviews being taken in the match, eight of which were successful. Four of the eight successful reviews came against Reiffel, while four were against Sharfuddoula Saikat.
R Ashwin: "Whenever India bat, he feels it's out"
Following the end of the fourth day's play, Ashwin slammed umpire Reiffel's decision-making, going as far as suggesting there might be an anti-India bias in his decisions.
"My experience with Paul Reiffel... You need to talk to him. You need to set him up. I am not saying that you ask him to give it out. But he has this thing... whenever India bowl, he feels it's not out, whenever India bat, he feels it's out. If this is happening not just against India but against every team, then the ICC needs to look at the umpiring," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel Ash Ki Baat.
In the second session on day four, Joe Root was given not out by Reiffel to a Mohammed Siraj delivery which replays showed would have clipped leg stump. That decision led to reactions from players and pundits. “It seems Paul Reiffel has decided that it is not going to be out. Anything close, not out," said Anil Kumble while former England batter Jonathan Trott felt it looked out in real time. "You thought the ball was crashing into the inside of the stump. When you saw that normal speed, it was hardly missing the leg stump. England survive again. India animated."
Another widely criticised decision came towards the end of the fourth day, when Reiffel gave Indian captain Shubman Gill out caught behind off Brydon Carse. Gill reviewed immediately and replays showed a big gap between bat and ball.
"See this. I have a sedan. That can go through the gap between the bat and ball here," Ashwin said referring to the Gill decision. "When I saw this the first time, I felt it was not out."
Also read: ENG vs IND Tests: Every DRS review and overturned decision so far
Ashwin: Umpire's call decisions never go India's way
Ashwin suggested a wider trend in Reiffel's decision making: "But this wasn't the first time (a wrong decision was given). My dad was watching the match with me and he was saying, 'If Paul Reiffel is there, we won't win.' Whenever Paul Reiffel is umpiring, decisions go against India. When we are bowling, umpire's call is usually not out. When we are batting, there's no umpire's call (in our favour). There's something there. My dad says whenever he is umpiring, India lose."
On being asked if he felt the overall umpiring standards have been questionable in the series, Ashwin said he doesn't have issues with Sharfuddoula, the other umpire standing in this Test.
"I forgot the name of the Bangladeshi umpire. But he's also been okay. One thing about umpiring, which Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton have been talking about, is that they can be firmer as a lot of time has been wasted in the game," Ashwin said.
What are Paul Reiffel's DRS stats in matches involving India?
The Lord's Test was the 14th Test match involving India in which Reiffel officiated on-field. To go with that, he has stood in 20 ODIs and five T20Is involving India. Overall, India have won nearly 60 per cent of all international matches in which Reiffel has officiated as an on-field umpire.
India's record in matches involving Paul Reiffel as on-field umpire
| Format | Matches | Won | Lost | Drawn | Win % |
| Tests | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 35.71 |
| ODIs | 20 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 75 |
| T20Is | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 60 |
| Overall | 39 | 23 | 15 | 1 | 58.97 |
As far as DRS numbers in these games go, there's no evidence to suggest that a majority of close calls - represented by those decisions which throw up 'umpire's call' for at least one factor in the review process - made by Reiffel have gone against India. In fact, across these games, reviews taken against his decisions have returned an 'umpire's call' verdict 21 times, 11 of which have been in India's favour.
Reviews against Paul Reiffel in India's matches returning "umpire's call"
| Format | Total umpire's call verdicts | in India's favour | in Opposition's favour | % in India's favour | % in Opposition's favour |
| Tests | 17 | 7 | 10 | 41.17 | 58.82 |
| ODIs | 3 | 3 | 0 | 100 | 0 |
| T20Is | 1 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 0 |
| Overall | 21 | 11 | 10 | 52.38 | 47.61 |
The overall number of wrong decisions made by Reiffel that have been overturned is slightly tilted against India, however. Thirty-three decisions made by him in India's matches have been overturned so far, of which 19 have been overturned in India's favour and 14 against India. The contrast is wider in Test matches, where two-thirds of his calls have been overturned in favour of India.
Successful reviews agains Paul Reiffel in India's matches
| Format | Total successful reviews | Successful reviews by India | Successful reviews by opposition | % successful reviews by India | % successful reviews by opposition |
| Tests | 21 | 14 | 7 | 66.67 | 33.33 |
| ODIs | 10 | 4 | 6 | 40 | 60 |
| T20Is | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50 | 50 |
| Overall | 33 | 19 | 14 | 57.57 | 42.42 |
In the Lord's Test, a total of 11 reviews were taken against decisions made by Reiffel, all but one of which were taken by India. India managed to get four decisions overturned in their favour. Two close calls went in England's favour, including Root's lbw on day four and Ben Stokes' lbw on day one, and one went in favour of India - a not out call for an lbw against Akash Deep.
In other words, the Lord's Test was a rather poor one for Reiffel (and for Sharfuddoula, who had four reviews taken against him, each of which were succesful) and India can count themselves unlucky. But his overall record in India's matches has been pretty consistent, with the close calls split being almost exactly even.
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