"No need for thumb-sucking" - AB de Villiers frustrated at lack of clarity on wide calls in IPL 2024

Former South African captain AB de Villiers has expressed frustration over the lack of clarity in the wide calls during the clash between Delhi Capitals (DC) and SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Saturday, April 20.

With the players given the license to review wide calls this season, the third umpires' decision-making has been visible to viewers. However, ambiguities in the ruling depending on the batter's position at the crease, among others have led to frustration from fans and experts.

The latest instance came during SRH's batting innings when Shahbaz Ahmed missed a swivel pull off a short delivery from Anrich Nortje. While the on-field umpires deemed it a fair delivery, the batter reviewed the same.

The third umpire stuck with the on-field decision despite it being a 50-50 call, leading De Villiers to vent his frustration on X (formerly Twitter).

"For goodness sake, PLEASE just clarify the wide ruling in Cricket! Really not so difficult. We have technology, let’s use it properly. No need for thumb-sucking surely," he wrote.

Coming to the game, SRH continued their batting dominance by posting another 200+ total, finishing on 266/7 in 20 overs.

It was the third 250+ total for SRH in the ongoing IPL, a game after they set the record for the highest team score in league history (287/3 against RCB).

In reply, DC started strong, racing to 50 in just three overs and 100 in the seventh over. However, the runs dried up after the powerplay as the home side were bowled out for 199 in 19.1 overs to lose by 67 runs.

Fourth win a row catapults SRH to top 2 in IPL 2024 points table

The victory against DC was SRH's fourth consecutive in IPL 2024 and fifth in seven outings, helping them climb to second spot on the points table.

After finishing at the bottom last season, the franchise replaced Aiden Markram with Pat Cummins at the helm. The turnaround has been incredible, with the side creating fear among opposition units with their ultra-aggressive batting from the word go.

Travis Head has led the way with the bat, scoring 324 runs at an average of 54 and a strike rate of 216. The bowling, however, has been a bit of a worry despite T Natarajan and Cummins leading the way with 10 and 9 wickets, respectively.

SRH have already secured one more win than their entire tally last season and will look to continue the rampage in their next outing against RCB on Thursday, April 25.