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

The incident occurred on Tuesday when CSK pacer Shardul Thakur bowled outside the off stump of Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman Rashid Khan.

Umpire Reiffel, who played 35 Tests for Australia before retiring, appeared to start the signal for a wide — both arms outstretched at shoulder height — 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.

Commentator Ian Bishop, a former West Indian international, 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 also seemed visibly unhappy from the dugout of the Dubai stadium in the United Arab Emirates.

The match saw Chennai bounce back from two losses to win by 20 runs and draw level with Hyderabad on six points in the eight-team table.

But Dhoni’s action did not go down well on social media.

Last year Dhoni was fined 50% of his match fee after he stormed onto the field during a tense IPL game to contest an umpiring call.

The cricket laws state: “An umpire may alter any decision provided that such alteration is made promptly.”