ECB confirm taking up umpiring issues but haven't raised an official complaint

Umpiring consistency has become one of the main talking points of the ongoing five-day fixture between India and England. While in England’s first innings, there wasn’t much point of debate, owing to the clinical display from the on-field umpires, in the Indian innings, there were plenty. The visitors were left unhappy over the third umpire C Shamshuddin deeming the first replay enough to overturn a soft-signal to give a reprieve to Indian opener Shubman Gill. 

That combined with the decision later to allow Rohit Sharma another life irked the English skipper Joe Root and the entire management team. Following the end of the day’s play, ECB confirmed that both the skipper and the head coach Chris Silverwood have had a word with the match referee Javagal Srinath, regarding the decision making. 

"The England captain and head coach spoke with the match referee after play," an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) spokesperson said in a statement, reported TOI.

However, despite taking the issue up with the match officials, ECB confirmed that there have been no official complaints lodged against the officiating umpires. ECB’s statement also revealed that the match referee was on board with the visitors asking the right questions of the umpires. 

"The captain and head coach acknowledged the challenges the umpires faced and asked respectfully that in making any decisions there was consistency in the process. The match referee said the captain was asking the right questions of the umpires."