WTC Final 2023: 'Ban Cameron Green from IPL,' fume desi Twitter users at his catch to dismiss Gill

Indian Twitter users have been asking for an IPL ban on Australian cricketer Cameron Green for claiming a dropped catch as a legitimate one to dismiss Indian opener Shubman Gill at WTC final on Saturday.

On the fourth day of a gripping World Test Championship final at The Oval, Gill was declared out by TV umpire Richard Kettleborough at the stroke of tea after India got a strong start in their run chase, with 444 needed to win.

Pacer Scott Boland found the edge of India opener's bat and Cameron Green dove to his left in his preferred gully position to complete the catch, but the debate has opened up in the cricket world on whether the Australia all-rounder was successful in getting his hands under the ball and controlling it. Green immediately started celebrating the superb catch with his teammates. Fans and many players debated whether the batter was out or not as well as whether Green avoided hitting the ball on the grass when his hand came on the ground after catching it as soon as the 'out' decision was shown on the huge screen. Gill and India captain Rohit Sharma were left unconvinced by the decision.

Asked about the catch after the day's play, Green said, ''Yeah, I think at the time, I definitely thought I caught it. I think in the heat of the moment, I thought it was clean and threw it up and obviously showed no signs of any doubt basically. And then, it is left up to the third umpire and he agreed, so yeah."

Gill took to Instagram to share a sarcastic story on Saturday. Gill shared a screengrab of Cameron Green's controversial catch and used the 'applauding' emoji on his story on the popular photo-sharing platform. On Twitter, he posted a tweet with a cryptic caption that included the 'facepalm' emoji and microscope.

Chants of ''cheat cheat cheat'' were heard soon after and were repeated when Green came on to bowl. Gill was batting well and his partnership with Rohit Sharma had started to look threatening.

The Indian supporters, on Saturday, resorted to booing the Australian team, primarily Cameron Green, after the giant all-rounder's diving catch to dismiss opener Shubman Gill looked inconclusive to the naked eye. On Twitter, Green's sportsman abilities were criticised and many people tagged BCCI to ban him from Indian Premier League.

"3rd Umpire may do whatever. @CameronGreen_ knew that it was a drop catch. Such players do not have any integrity towards the game & conscience. Can we ban him in IPL games at least as a penalty," quipped a Twitter user about Green, who recently had a solid outing for Mumbai Indians.

However, Green found support from Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting.

"When I saw it live, I knew it had carried to him on the full, but I wasn't sure what the action was after that from all replays we have seen. I actually think some part of the ball did touch the ground and it is the interpretation of the umpire that as long as the fielder has complete control of the ball before the ball hits the ground then it is out," Ponting told the ICC. "That must have been what the umpires' interpretation was and I think that is exactly what happened. It carried probably six or eight inches off the ground then there was another action after that," he added.