The ICC Cricket Committee’s appraisal that a few technical aspects of the Decision Review System (DRS) must be referred to an independent panel of experts forced the ICC Chief Executives meeting in London to put off the touchy matter to a future meeting.
BCCI sources close to the deliberations of the meeting in London told The Hindu : “The BCCI’s view has been the same since the inception of the DRS. It’s not full proof on a many counts, mainly on the ball tracking technology with regard to trajectory, bounce of the wicket and the point of impact The ICC’s Cricket Committee has given its opinion. Now the practice is for the countries playing in a bilateral series to agree or opt against the use of the DRS. It is mandatory though in the ICC events.’’
While a section of the media has squarely blamed the BCCI president N. Srinivasan and also pointed fingers at Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the BCCI’s opposition to the implementation of the DRS in its present form, the fact is that right through after its inception, the BCCI has had misgivings about the use of the computer generated technology. “I have even told the ICC that we have no problem with Hot Spot. Our objection is to ball tracking. It becomes just a case of someone else’s imagination versus the umpire’s imagination,’’ had said former BCCI President Shashank Manohar.
While one or two full members of the ICC agree to the BCCI’s viewpoint, a few others notably the West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh feel apprehensive about the cost factor, with the official broadcasters wanting the home Boards to pay and make available the technology for the team review of an umpire’s decision.
The BCCI source also said that the CEO’s felt that the seven-year Future Tours Programme (FTP) needs to be reworked and fine-tuned.
