Nicolas Pooran called for criticism after the MI Emirates wicketkeeper didn’t stump out Max Holden despite the Desert Vipers batter way out of his crease during a International League T20 (ILT20) clash at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

The incident took place on the final ball of the 16th over during the first innings of the game when Desert Vipers were batting. Dancing down the track against a Rashid Khan googly, Holden got beaten on the outside edge and was outside the crease for a considerable amount of time. Pooran had ample time to stump Holden out but the West Indies star chose not to.

Pooran‘s decision surprised many as the video went viral on social media. A ball later, Holden retired himself out after a struggling 37-ball 42. Viper’s choice of retiring Holden was completely within the cricketing rules. Nowadays, if a team feel that a certain player is struggling, they retire him out and replaces with another batter who can slog big sixes.

While many may call Pooran’s act as tactical play, many, mostly fans speculated it as match fixing and called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to intervene immediately.

What happened in MI Emirates vs Desert Vipers match?

Batting first Desert Vipers managed 159/4 in 20 overs on a track that was difficult to bat on. Fakhar Zaman scored 35 at the top of the order. Holden came out to bat no.3 after Andries Gous was retired hurt. Along with Zaman, Holden put on 51 runs in 37 balls to help the team towards a respectable total.

In fact, Holden was the top scorer for Vipers. In reply, MI Emirates lost Jonny Bairstow in the second over before Muhammad Waseem (24), Tom Banton (34) and Pooran (31) rescued the side. However, once the trio was out, wickets kept falling for MI Emirates as none of rest of the batters could really stand in front of David Payne, who finished with four wickets.

At the end, MI Emirates fell short by just one run.