‘Pathetic umpiring’: Fans slam 3rd umpire over Phil Salt’s controversial catch in IPL 2026 opener

Phil Salt's debatable catch of Heinrich Klaasen sparked controversy during the IPL 2026 opener between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday.

New Delhi: A controversy has erupted over Phil Salt’s contentious catch of Heinrich Klaasen during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 opener between the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday, March 28. Salt took an exceptional but debatable catch almost on the boundary rope to dismiss Klaasen during SRH’s innings.

The dismissal took place on the first ball of the 14th over. Klaasen got hold of a shortish delivery from Romario Shepherd and dispatched it towards deep mid-wicket. Salt managed to catch the ball very close to the boundary rope. He went down while attempting the catch, but managed to hold on to the ball and seemed to have barely avoided the rope.

The replays showed that Salt had completed the catch cleanly, however, there was no evidence whether his back had touched the cushions or not. The decision was referred to the third umpire, who deemed Klaasen not out after checking the replays. However, what angered many was the fact that the third umpire didn’t check the back angle, which could have proven decisive.

While he checked all angles from the side........

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