Why Are Fans Blaming Mumbai Indians for the Wrong Dismissal of Ishan Kishan?

For the Mumbai Indians team, their success has often been linked with the jokes of buying the umpires or by winning with unethical means, which has been the debate amongst the fans as they are often involved in some moments which lead to such discussions. One such moment came again in the IPL 2025 match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad where the Mumbai Indians team was bowling first against the team and a bizarre incident unfolded involving Ishan Kishan.

Kishan, now playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad, was dismissed in the most puzzling fashion. On the first ball of the third over, Deepak Chahar bowled a length delivery that clearly veered down the leg side. The umpire initially signaled a wide, but what followed stunned everyone. Ishan began walking off the field despite there being no appeal from the bowler or keeper, and moments later, the umpire reversed his call and declared him out. Replays and the snickometer showed there was no contact between bat and ball.

🚨 ISHAN KISHAN DISMISSAL MOMENT 🚨 pic.twitter.com/y75dm8v0bM

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) April 23, 2025

The moment left fans in disbelief and social media erupted in anger. Hashtags questioning the spirit of the game and Kishan’s integrity began trending. Many fans accused Ishan of still being emotionally loyal to Mumbai Indians, his former franchise, and walking off intentionally. The fact that MI’s players, including skipper Hardik Pandya, didn’t appeal yet celebrated the wicket raised further eyebrows. This strange dismissal, coupled with MI’s notorious reputation for controversial moments, reignited discussions about favoritism and unfair advantages in the IPL. The situation only added fuel to the ongoing narrative that things tend to go in Mumbai’s favor during crunch situations.

Instances Where Fans Accused Mumbai Indians of Winning by Unfair Means

Over the 17 seasons of the IPL, Mumbai Indians have won 5 titles, showing just how dominant they have been in the tournament. However, there have been a few moments over the years that made some fans question the fairness of their success. Let’s take a look at some of those instances.

1. No-Ball from Lasith Malinga

Playing against one of their fiercest rivals, the Mumbai Indians, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru faced one of the most frustrating moments in IPL history during a match in 2019 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. The game came down to the very last ball, with RCB needing a boundary to tie the match and force a Super Over. Mumbai’s veteran pacer Lasith Malinga bowled a full delivery which Shivam Dube couldn’t connect well, and it was caught by Rohit Sharma at long-on, seemingly sealing a 6-run victory for Mumbai.

RCB needed 7 off 1 in 2019 IPL vs MI, then malinga bowled a no ball which wasn't given and it costed us playoffs sport if that "no ball" would have been given by the umpire RCB could have reached to 13 points. SRH qualified that season with 12 points 💔 pic.twitter.com/IlxUVJCpSj

— Kevin (@imkevin149) April 23, 2025

However, as the players started walking off, the stadium screens flashed a replay showing that Malinga had clearly overstepped the crease, a no-ball that the on-field umpire S. Ravi failed to call. The image of Malinga’s foot well past the line sparked outrage. RCB skipper Virat Kohli was visibly furious, stating that such mistakes were unacceptable in a tournament of IPL’s stature, emphasizing, “We are playing at the IPL level, not club cricket”. Even Mumbai’s captain Rohit Sharma acknowledged that such umpiring errors could seriously impact the outcome of a match.

What made the incident even more heartbreaking for RCB fans was its long-term consequence. That match turned out to be crucial, as RCB finished the season with 11 points. A win in that fixture would have pushed them to 13 points, potentially enough to qualify for the playoffs. Instead, they missed out, and that uncalled no-ball became symbolic of the narrow margins and controversies that often define IPL seasons.

2. Dwayne Smith’s LBW

The second event which eventually made the headlines and stirred controversy among IPL fans came during Qualifier 1 of the 2015 season between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium. In what was a high-stakes playoff clash, CSK’s chase of a 188-run target began with an early shock, opener Dwayne Smith was given out leg before wicket (lbw) on just the fourth ball of the innings. The delivery, bowled by Lasith Malinga, was a full toss that dipped late.

MS Dhoni has been fined after he called Dwayne Smith's LBW a 'horrible decision'. #IPL #CSKvsMI pic.twitter.com/tBU1Pf9gQq

— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) May 20, 2015

While Smith attempted to flick it, he missed, and the ball struck him on the pads. Umpire Richard Illingworth immediately raised his finger, giving Smith out lbw. However, replays told a very different story. The ball had clearly pitched outside the leg stump and would have comfortably missed the stumps and in fact, it even struck Smith outside the line of leg stump. By the laws of cricket, such a delivery should never be given out leg before. The dismissal left Smith stunned, and CSK fans around the world were left furious.

This controversial call raised questions about the standard of umpiring in crucial knockout matches of the IPL, especially since the decision favored Mumbai Indians. Many fans argued that this incorrect decision tilted the game in MI’s favor right from the start. CSK lost the match by 25 runs, and considering the early dismissal of an aggressive opener like Smith, the momentum was clearly disrupted. The incident reignited debates around umpiring consistency and led to some fans questioning the fairness of decisions involving Mumbai Indians.

3. Why DRS Was Down During CSK Batting?

The third incident that stirred a lot of controversy in IPL 2022 involved Chennai Super Kings opener Devon Conway and the unexpected unavailability of the Decision Review System (DRS) during a key match against the Mumbai Indians. Devon Conway was in red-hot form going into this game, having scored consistently for CSK.

However, his momentum was cut short when he was given out LBW early in the innings, at a time when the DRS was temporarily unavailable due to a power outage at the Wankhede Stadium. The power failure led to certain machines needing time to reboot, which meant DRS couldn’t be used for the first 10 balls of the match. Unfortunately, Conway was one of the early victims of this technical glitch. Replays later suggested that the ball might have missed the leg stump, which could have overturned the umpire’s decision if a review had been taken.

This missed opportunity became a huge blow for CSK, especially since they were bowled out for just 97 runs, eventually losing the match to MI by five wickets. The incident sparked outrage among fans and former players alike, with many feeling that CSK had been put at a disadvantage. Even cricket legend Virender Sehwag commented on the unfairness of the situation.