Finally, BCCI says yes to DRS

New Delhi, October 21

The Indian cricket board (BCCI) on Friday ended its long-standing opposition to the Decision Review System (DRS), and agreed to its usage on a trial basis during India's home Test series against England next month.  “BCCI will deploy the DRS, in toto, in the coming series between India and England on a trial basis to evaluate the improvements made to the system,” the board said in a press statement.

BCCI and India's limited-overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni have long opposed the system, but the board's stance has softened after Test captain Virat Kohli and coach Anil Kumble expressed their openness to experiment with the technology.

Kumble, who heads the ICC Cricket Committee, visited a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) research laboratory in the US last year to assess the upgraded research on ball tracking technology and the Hot Spot, which had been called unreliable by BCCI in the past. India last played a Test series using DRS in 2008 against Sri Lanka.

BCCI said it was “satisfied” that most of the concerns and suggestions were expressed by it over a period of time were “addressed to a significant extent”. The significant changes, which have been effected, include the introduction of ultramotion cameras, which will address issues with regard to calculating the predictive path that allows ball tracking to be more accurate.

Another change is the introduction of the 'Ultra edge', which will help in determining the frame of impact. “Ultraedge also ensures that post impact, balls do not affect the predicted path or impact point and hence the accuracy has been improved,” BCCI said.

BCCI president Anurag Thakur said the use of DRS after the England series will depend on the feedback given by all the stakeholders, including the players and coaching staff.  “We are happy to note that Hawkeye has institutionalised all the recommendations made by BCCI, and we confirm that this improved version of DRS will be used on a trial basis during the coming series against England,” said Thakur. — PTI

India’s tryst with DRS  

• 2008: India's first experience with DRS in Sri Lanka was bad. Several decisions went against India, including a dubious LBW review against Virender Sehwag. India opted for the review 21 times but got only one decision overturned in their favour. Sri Lanka reviewed 27 times and had 11 successes.
• 2011: India won the World Cup in which they benefitted from the use of the DRS. However, they continued to oppose DRS in bilateral series. On India’s tour of England the same year, DRS was used but not for LBW decisions.
• 2013: India won the Champions Trophy which used DRS, but captain MS Dhoni and past players like Anil Kumble continued to oppose it. India’s main objection was that the ball-tracking technology used for LBW decisions in DRS was not foolproof.
• 2015: ICC chief executive David Richardson said India is a “long way” from accepting DRS.
• 2016: In January, India’s limited-overs caption MS Dhoni expressed his opposition to DRS, saying that it has become the “umpires' decision justification system”. In September, Test captain Virat Kohli said India would consider using DRS. In October, India agreed to use DRS for the Test series against England on a “trial basis” to “evaluate the improvements made” in the system.