Thaindian News

New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Sri Lankan umpire Asoka de Silva, whose decisions have come under the scanner in the World Cup, has been ignored for the knockout stages of the tournament beginning Wednesday.

De Silva, who was earlier removed from important matches, was again excluded for the quarterfinal matches when the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the names Monday.

He was the only one of the 12 members of the ICC’s Elite Umpires Panel who has been ignored, putting his future in the category in doubt.

De Silva had a poor record with the Umpires Decision Review System as his original decisions were overturned on seven of the 10 occasion.

He was also involved in a controversial ruling when he ruled Ireland’s Gary Wilson leg before out at a crucial stage of the game against the West Indies.

When the decision was challenged, replays showed the ball struck Wilson’s pad outside the off-stump. De Silva, however, did not overturn his decision. It did not go down well with Ireland, who labelled part of the blame for the loss against West Indies on the wrong decision.

The ICC subsequently removed him from officiating as third umpire in the England-West Indies and India-West Indies clash. Instead, he was put on duty for inconsequential matches, relegated to the position of fourth umpire for the Ireland-Netherlands match on and on-field umpire for Sunday’s Zimbabwe-Kenya clash.

ICC said the move was taken to ensure their best umpires would not officiate in matches of lesser importance.

This is not the first time De Silva’s performance has been questioned. In 2004, he was relegated from the ICC elite panel following a shocking performance during Australia’s tour of the West Indies.