'Hope I Never See This Again'- Kevin Pietersen on Delhi's no-ball controversy

The last over of the 34th match of the Indian T20 league 2022 took the world by storm. It saw a controversy that involved Delhi's skipper Rishabh Pant. In what was turning out to be a thrilling game, the fans saw a tense moment which included the keeper-batter attempting to call his batters back from the field.

This was because the umpire felt that the third ball of the 20th over was a legitimate delivery despite the ball seemingly being above the waist. It is to be noted that Rovman Powell had hit three sixes from the first three balls, and he needed to strike three more maximum's in the last three balls. However, it wasn't to be as he was only able to score two runs from the last three deliveries of the second innings.

As this no-ball could have changed the entire complexion of the game, some fans felt that Pant's actions were justified. However, Kevin Pietersen felt otherwise. The legendary batter didn't like the keeper-batter protesting against the umpire's decision in such a manner. He also slammed Pravin Amre for going on the field to speak to the umpires.

“I don’t know who they think they are but that was a mistake, that was a huge, huge mistake. The biggest mistake is the coach running onto the field and talking to the umpire. I just do not understand the coach, he is a senior figure in those rooms. Rishabh Pant was calling them off. They wanted to walk off. For me, that was unacceptable and I hope I never ever see that again in the game of cricket,” said Kevin Pietersen, while speaking to Star Sports.

He also mentioned that this may have caused a lapse in concentration, and the entire thought process of the game might have been disrupted due to Amre going on the field. Further on, he added that all of this wouldn't have happened if Ricky Ponting was there in the dugout. Pietersen felt that Jos Buttler had every right to go to Pant, and tell him that he was doing the wrong thing.

“It may have disrupted his concentration. It may have disrupted how Rishabh Pant was thinking about the game. That’s more concerning to me than the umpire call, the behaviour of Delhi. I don’t think that would have happened if Ricky Ponting was there. I think Jos Buttler had every right to walk up to Rishabh Pant and say ‘what on earth are you doing?’ to send one of their coaches onto the field and think that was the correct behaviour?,” he added.