'Poor Umpiring': Was Heinrich Klaasen Not Out? X users 'unhappy' with Third Umpire

Indian Premier League buffs have kicked off a freewheeling rant on social media. And the reason is Heinrich Klaasen's wicket during the IPL 2026 opener between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Klaasen went for a big leg-side heave off Romario Shepherd in the 13th over, only to be caught by Phil Salt, who held his nerve inches from the boundary rope.

Phil Salt pulled off a dramatic effort right by the boundary, clutching the ball before rolling away from the advertising cushions to keep himself in play. With the margins razor-thin, the on-field umpires immediately referred the decision upstairs.

Replays showed Salt’s body—particularly his backside—perilously close to the rope at the moment of completion, raising doubts over the catch’s legality. After a detailed review, third umpire Rohan Pandit deemed the effort clean. The decision didn’t sit well with Heinrich Klaasen, who walked off visibly displeased.

X users think it was not out, with some of them going all guns blazing against the Third Umpire.

Here's how they're going on a rant...

Earlier today, defending champions RCB won the toss and decided to field against SRH in the tournament opener at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

At 27 years and 253 days, Ishan Kishan, who is the stand-in captain of Sunrisers, became franchises' second-youngest skipper, behind Kane Williamson (27y, 244d) in 2018.

After winning the toss, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar said they will try their best to put a second star on the jersey.

"We'll bowl first. Of course, there are a lot of positives from last year, but as we go into this season, we are not defending; we'll try to be champions again in 2026. I think there are a lot of good players in the side and we have proper backups for every position. There's a good support system and medical team as well. So yeah, everyone is fit and looking forward to this game. Thank you so much for supporting us over the years. We'll try our best to put a second star on our jersey. There are two new faces - Jacob Duffy and Abhinandan Singh, who are going to play their first match," Patidar said.

After losing the toss, Hyderabad stand-in skipper Ishan Kishan said they will try to execute their plans against the defending champions.

"Looks like a fresh wicket, doesn't matter if you bat or bowl first. You don't need to start doing something new. We need to execute our plans. Everyone looks in good touch," Kishan said.

Playing XI of both teams:

Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w/c), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma.

(With inputs from ANI)