Explained: Why umpire didn’t use soft signal to decide Shubman Gill’s dismissal

The Day 4 of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final between India and Australia witnessed a big controversy as Cameron Green took a stunning catch at gully to dismiss Shubman Gill.

The catch divided opinions as some felt Green had his fingers underneath the ball while completing the catch, while others believed the ball touched the ground.

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After looking at the replays multiple times, third umpire Richard Kettleborough gave Gill out.

The dismissal did not go down well with Gill who has since tweeted a picture of the catch in which it appears that the ball may have touched the ground.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami at the end of Day 4 said that the third umpire should have used all possible help from the technology to take the decision.

“He (television umpire Richard Kettleborough) could have taken some more time (before giving the decision). This is the WTC final; it’s not a normal match. He could have zoomed in.. but it’s all part of the game,” Shami said at Stumps on Day 4.

Coming back to the dismissal.

What caught people’s attention was the lack of the ‘soft signal’.

Earlier, in cases of caught out dismissals when there was a lack of clarity over if the catch was completed the on-field umpire used to give a soft signal of out or not and this decision used to be upheld if the third umpire would fail to find conclusive evidence against it.

On Saturday, the on-field umpires did not give a soft signal because it has been removed from ICC Playing COnditions at the start of June.

“The on-field umpires will consult with the TV umpire before any decisions are taken,” the ICC confirmed when the changes were announced in May.

“Soft signals have been discussed at previous cricket committee meetings over the last couple of years,” Sourav Ganguly of the Men’s Cricket Committee had further added.

“The committee deliberated this at length and concluded that soft signals were unnecessary and at times confusing since referrals of catches may seem inconclusive in replays.”

Law 33.3 of the MCC Laws of Cricket offers some context. The law defines the act of a catch as being judged “from the time when the ball first comes into contact with a fielder’s person and shall end when a fielder obtains complete control over both the ball and his/her own movement.”

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