KARACHI: Former Pakistan captains Moin Khan and Inzamam-ul-Haq have criticised Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his behaviour with umpire Aleem Dar during the ongoing Test series against England, terming it as “unacceptable”.

“I am not at all surprised that the ICC has not reacted to the way Dhoni engaged in an argument with Aleem Dar during the ongoing series as the ICC can’t afford to upset the powerful Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI),” Moin said. “...the way Dhoni questioned Aleem Dar’s umpiring and argued with him it is unacceptable,” he added.

Moin said since the BCCI was financially very strong and influential in world cricket, the ICC refrained from reprimanding Dhoni.

Aleem was also criticised by former Australian Test leg-spinner Shane Warne in one of his tweets and described as a poor umpire for a bad decision he gave during the series.

Aleem reacted to Warne’s tweet by telling a Pakistani channel that he was doing his job and Warne was doing his in his new role as a television commentator.

Moin said the ICC needs to ensure that a uniform set of rules applied for all Test nations. “Dhoni has in the past also argued with umpires and got away with it,” he noted.

Inzamam advised the Indian captain to stop blaming the umpiring for his team’s poor form in the ongoing series.

“I think Dhoni is a very experienced captain and player and needs to focus on areas where his team is going wrong against England rather than blaming the umpires,” Inzamam said.

The former batsman said that if the ICC had a clear policy on the matter, it must be followed rigorously for all captains.

“I myself have been penalised for questioning the umpires decisions and here Dhoni did it openly and argued with Aleem and yet no punitive action has been taken against him.”

Inzamam credited his teammate and former Test leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed for playing a key role in England’s reversal of form in India. “I think Mushie has a big role to play in the way the English spinners have bowled in the Tests and the way the visiting batsmen are tackling the Indian slow bowlers.”

The burly ex-player believed that the present England team had learnt a lot from their drubbing at the hands of Pakistan earlier this year in the United Arab Emirates. “They have improved their skills against the spinners.”—Agencies