Abhishek Sharma’s dismissal in the clash between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad in match number 6 of of IPL 2026 turned out to be quite a controversy. The southpaw was forced to depart after an outstanding catch by Varun Chakravarthy near the boundary ropes. However, replays suggest that the catch did not seem legitimate, although the third umpire decided to give it as out after considering certain angles of replays of the catch.
Was Abhishek Sharma out or not out?
The incident occurred in the 9th over of the innings when Abhishek attempted a pull shot but was caught by Varun Chakravathy close to the boundary rope. Although replays of the dismissal showed the ball could have potentially bounced before the KKR fielder took the catch, the third umpire decided that it was out after considering one angle of the replay of the catch. Therefore, Blessing Muzarabani, who was signed as a replacement in KKR. got his second wicket in one over. Abhishek scored 48 runs off 21 balls, including 4 fours and sixes each, at a strike rate of over 228.
This is the second instance in IPL 2026 where a SRH batter has been involved in a controversial call. In SRH’s IPL 2026 opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Heinrich Klaasen pulled a short ball towards midwicket, and Phil Salt caught it. But it wasn’t so simple.
The catch didn’t look clean. Salt fell over despite getting under the ball comfortably. Replays showed that Salt’s foot was near the cushions. The third umpire, Rohan Pandit, checked a couple of times but, for whatever reason, didn’t zoom towards the back side or ask for the other angle. One couldn’t see the shadow of Salt’s foot for just a second, which suggested that he had touched the boundary cushion.
After these two controversial calls, what doesn’t make sense is how the third umpires make a decision, especially after so much money is devoted towards reviewing decisions, having multiple camera angles and other features. On one hand, it clearly looked like Salt’s foot had touched the boundary cushion in the game against SRH. On the other hand, it looked all but evident that the ball had bounced before Varun caught out Abhishek. However, in both cases, the third umpire favoured the fielding sides.
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