Kumar Dharmasena, a veteran Sri Lankan umpire, sparked outrage after making an on-field gesture that could have helped England escape losing a Decision Review System (DRS) appeal on Day 1 of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy’s fifth and final Test at The Oval.
With India down 1-2 in the five-match Test series, the visitors must win the fifth Test at The Oval. England, captained by Ollie Pope in place of injured captain Ben Stokes, won the toss and decided to bowl first. India made four changes, with Karun Nair, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, and Dhruv Jurel joining the playing XI.
However, the contentious incident occurred in the 13th over of India’s innings. England pacer Josh Tongue bowled a full-toss to teenage left-hander Sai Sudharsan, who was smacked on the pads after attempting an inside edge.
England filed an appeal for LBW, but Kumar Dharmasena swiftly threw it out.
While the verdict based on replays was ultimately verified as right, Dharmasena’s hand motion towards the England players indicating the ball had hit the bat. This gesture occurred before the 15-second DRS timer had expired, affecting England’s decision not to pursue a review.
If the hosts had reviewed, their referral would have been in vain. However, the image of the umpire providing clarification has sparked outrage. Many experts and fans agreed that an umpire should never disclose reasoning before a team determines whether or not to challenge a decision.
What is Kumar Dharmasena doing? Let them take review, wait 15 sec. #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/IRTB00ipBu
— The NightWatchMan (@NgtWmn) July 31, 2025
The incident quickly went viral, with fans and former cricketers questioning Dharmasena’s conduct. Former England captain Michael Atherton also opened up on the decision. “India would say we want England to burn their reviews,” he said.
Despite losing openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul early, India managed to recover to 72/2 at lunch. Gus Atkinson trapped Jaiswal LBW through a successful DRS review. Rahul followed soon after, playing on to a short delivery from Chris Woakes. However, the team lost Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharshan soon after. At the time of writing, the scorecard read 104/4.
