Ravichandran Ashwin "flummoxed" by IPL umpire decisions

The umpires changed the ball after Ashwin had Shivam Dube lbw for 8, with Super Kings 92 for 3 in the 12th over, attempting to chase 176

Ravichandran Ashwin has criticised the decision-making of some umpires at the ongoing Indian Premier League, saying it has left him "flummoxed".

Rajasthan Royals beat Chennai Super Kings by three runs in a tense affair on Wednesday (April 12), to give them three wins from their first four games of the tournament. 

The umpires changed the ball after Ashwin had Shivam Dube lbw for 8, with Super Kings 92 for 3 in the 12th over, attempting to chase 176.  

Ashwin was not happy with what he saw as inconsistent decisions.  

The India international said: "I'm quite surprised the umpires changed the ball for dew on their own. It's never happened before and I'm quite surprised.

"Some of the decisions in this year's IPL on the field have left me a little bit flummoxed in a good or bad way because what you need is a little bit of balance. We're going as a bowling team and we're not asking for the ball to be changed. But the ball was changed on the umpire's accord. What reason – I did ask the umpire but he said we can change it." 

The cricket laws and the IPL's playing conditions both say the umpires are allowed to swap the ball when they think it is appropriate, according to Law 4.5 and playing condition 4.4.  

Sam Curran of Punjab Kings has also raised a question of inconsistency, having failed to get the ball swapped in similar circumstances in a game against the Royals earlier in the campaign.

He said: "I found it a little bit strange how they changed their ball in the first innings when it was a little bit wet and I was trying to get our ball changed because it was like a soap. I don't really get how that works when they can change their ball and we can't, so we had to get on with it." 

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