India vs England: BCCI ‘shadow umpire’ to learn DRS use
The Board of Control for Cricket in India, long opposed to the use of DRS, have got their officials cleared by the ICC to sit with the TV umpire during the ongoing series against England to get a feel of how the technology is used to review decisions.
Long opposed to the Decision Review System (DRS), the Indian board is trying to embrace technology whole-heartedly by asking its select umpires to get a first-hand experience of its implementation.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) accepted the BCCI’s request to let three of its match officials in the international panel to sit with the TV umpire during the ongoing Test series against England.
The ‘shadow umpire’ role in the Mohali Test has been given to Anil Chowdhary, who sits with Sri Lanka’s Kumar Dharmasena, the third umpire. SS Shamsuddin and C Nandan will join the third umpire in Mumbai and Chennai respectively, during the final two Tests.
“We are using DRS first time in India and so we thought our International panel umpires, who normally are deputed for other series, should use this opportunity. So, whenever the opportunity comes, they will be ready,” MV Sridhar, BCCI General Manager (Cricket Operations), told HT.
India were the first to get a feel of DRS, on the 2008 tour of Sri Lanka, but refused to accept it as they felt the technology, particularly for ball-tracking, was not 100 %. However, they have come around following improvements made by the governing body in the technology now being used.
Skipper Virat Kohli backed the referral system ahead of the Mohali Test. “I am pretty happy with it (DRS). It just confirms the decision that’s been made on the field,” he said. “If you want to challenge the umpire, it’s not just you telling him that he could have made a different decision, you have the option of checking it again and figuring out if it is wrong or right. It is pretty fair for the game.”