Explained: What is the soft signal rule that has made Virat Kohli and India very angry?

The Indian cricket team leveled the five-match Twenty20 International series with an eight-run win in the fourth match against England. Suryakumar Yadav was the star for India with a fine 57 off 31 balls, which included a six to get off the mark first ball in international cricket. Ben Stokes and Jason Roy struck aggressive knocks Shardul Thakur’s three wickets and a brace from Rahul Chahar and Hardik Pandya gave India a crucial win.

However, the match was filled with a couple of incidents which has made Virat Kohli and India furious. The umpiring was once again the focus in Ahmedabad. In the Tests, it was the Umpire’s call that prompted a lot of ridicule. The Twenty20 series has seen the soft signal rule coming under scrutiny and it all began with the dismissal of Suryakumar Yadav.

In the second ball of the 14^th over, Suryakumar lapped a length ball to deep fine leg. Dawid Malan ran in from the boundary and slid to take the catch. At the outset, it looked like the ball did touch the ground as he attempted to get his fingers underneath. The soft signal was out as the on-field umpires referred it to the third umpire. In return, the third umpire stated that replays were inconclusive. Since the soft signal was out, Suryakumar had to go back. The decision, though, was heavily criticised with former and current greats like Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Parthiv Patel, Graeme Swann and Michael Vaughan all lashing out at the third umpire.

What is the soft signal rule?

After the match, Indian skipper Virat Kohli lashed out at the soft signal protocol. “If fielder is in doubt, there is no way the umpire from square leg can see it clearly. The soft signal becomes that important and it becomes tricky. I don’t know why there can’t be an ‘I don’t know’ call with the umpires as well. It is similar to umpire’s call as well. These are decisions that can change the course of the game, especially in these big games. We were on the receiving side today, and tomorrow it could be some other team.”

What is the soft signal rule? Whenever there’s a tight call, the on-field umpires come up with a decision often based on their intuition. Whatever is the intuition of the on-field umpire is called the soft signal. The field umpire has to take a call before referring the decision to the third umpire. If contested, the TV umpire then takes a closer look at the incident to come up with a conclusion. But if he himself is indecisive about it, the decision made by the on-field is upheld. The soft signal rule in cricket can only be overturned if the TV umpire has irrefutable evidence.

History of the Soft Signal

The soft signal for catching was introduced in 2016 because it was felt two-dimensional cameras often provided inconclusive evidence. Batsmen were too often given not out when the on-field umpires conferred and referred the decision to the third umpire. This encouraged the on-field umpires to make a call before turning to technology to either agree or force a change. Simon Taufel, considered one of the best umpires, had stated that the soft signal process had been agreed after lot of consultations.

However, the MCC world cricket committee was pondering removing the soft signal process for catches beyond the 30-yard circle. In the press release, it said umpires should be given unsighted instruction rather than a final out or not out.