KARACHI, Jan 9: Former Pakistan captains Wasim Bari and Ramiz Raja on Wednesday urged the cricket world to axe the tradition of choosing neutral umpires in favour of those considered the best at the job, in the aftermath of the crisis-hit Australia-India series.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) was forced to dump veteran West Indian umpire Steve Bucknor from the third Test in Australia following Indian complaints over his performance in last week’s Sydney Test.

“I would recommend the best umpires on the rankings established by the ICC and not neutral ones. What is the use of a neutral umpire when he is not the best?” Bari, the former wicket-keeper who was also the ex-chief of selectors, said.

“Pakistan takes the credit for introducing neutral umpires but now the idea is not neutrality but the right decision,” said Bari, who played 81 Tests.

Ramiz said the controversy should not be allowed to do any more harm to Australia-India team relations, and would not have happened in the first place if umpiring standards were higher.

“I sincerely hope that the matter is not used as a source of confrontation, but to develop better umpires to overcome such problems in future,” the widely travelled television commentator said.

India claimed they lost the Sydney Test, won in dramatic fashion in the final minutes of the fifth day, because of poor decisions from Bucknor.

The series descended into acrimony after Indian captain Anil Kumble accused the Australians of bad sportsmanship and Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh received a three-Test suspension for racially abusing an Australian player.

Ramiz said the incidents at Sydney were “deplorable” for the game.

“What happened at Sydney was sad but I think good sense prevailed after the ICC took some steps and I don’t see it as a victory for India or a defeat for the ICC,” said Ramiz, who played 57 Tests.

Pakistan were at the centre of an umpiring row during The Oval Test against England two years ago when they forfeited the match after Australian umpire Darrell Hair accused them of ball tampering.

Hair’s penalty incensed the then Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, who refused to take the field, a stance which forced the umpires to award the match to England – the first forfeit in Test cricket’s long history.

The ICC later removed Hair from its elite umpiring panel.

Ramiz said the best umpires should officiate future matches, whether they were from neutral countries or not.

“There is a need to increase the number of umpires in the Elite Panel because with eight umpires you don’t give them a chance to acclimatise and maintain their performance,” he said.

“To me good umpires should officiate the match, even if it is played by his home team, so that we have the best men in the centre. The credibility factor should be taken into account while posting umpires.”—AFP