ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said on Wednesday cricket’s world governing body could discuss India’s opposition to the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) at a high-level meeting next month. The hugely influential India cricket board this week changed its stance on even the partial use of the UDRS, saying the current technology was not suitable. “Statistics show that the accuracy of umpiring decisions had improved considerably after the UDRS became operational,” Lorgat told reporters in Colombo.
The ICC’s executive board “could take up” India’s stance in October, he added. “India is entitled to its opinion. But in my view, the full system should be used. A half-way house gets you nowhere.” The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in July agreed to a compromise in which it accepted the use of the infra-red Hot Spot technology to determine edges, but rejected the ball-tracker for leg-before decisions. But the BCCI reverted to its original opposition to the entire system after Hot Spot failed to accurately show edges off the bat on several occasions during India’s recent disastrous tour of England. The UDRS was first used on a trial basis during India’s Test series in Sri Lanka in 2008, but the Indians wanted it abolished after numerous decisions went against them. During the England tour, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit out against the UDRS after star batsman Rahul Dravid fell victim to at least three controversial decisions. Teams are allowed two television reviews per innings if they feel the on-field umpires have not given the correct decision.
