Dhoni slammed

Cricket fans have slammed Mahendra Singh Dhoni for apparently bullying umpire Paul Reiffel into changing a wide call during an Indian Premier League game.

The incident occurred Tuesday when Chennai Super Kings paceman Shardul Thakur bowled outside the off stump of Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman Rashid Khan.

Umpire Reiffel appeared to start the signal for a wide when Dhoni began protesting. Reiffel then seemed to change his mind midway through the signal and the ball went down as legitimate in the crucial penultimate over of Hyderabad's unsuccessful chase of 168.

Ian Bishop said on ESPNcricinfo that Reiffel had erred. "He started calling it a wide, he looked up, saw Dhoni and he changed his mind," Bishop said. "I am someone who is sympathetic to the umpires because it is a difficult job, but tonight I will say that Reiffel made a mistake."

Hyderabad captain David Warner was visibly unhappy in the dugout and Dhoni was slammed on social media. Others criticised Reiffel for bowing to pressure.