So what’s new? Unfortunately nothing! The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has yet again repeated its reservation in using the Umpire Decision Referral System (UDRS) for the Test series that gets underway this English summer. A move which has made world number two bowler Graeme Swann slam the BCCI as taking immature decisions being based on ‘kidology’. Nevertheless he has made a point when he noted that the Indian cricket board should have tried out the UDRS for India could well have got lucky as the Poms had when in Brisbane last year they were all chips down and suddenly Alastair Cook got a reprieve, thanks to an astute Andrew Strauss, and scored a double-century to take England to 500-plus in the second innings.
But the Indian contingent is unlikely to be wooed. The skipper himself has been very critical of the UDRS and more so after Ian Bell got lucky during the World Cup. After the tied match in Bangalore an irritated Dhoni had fumed: “Adulteration is quite bad, whether it is natural or with technology. I think the adulteration of technology with human intention was the reason why we didn't get that wicket. Hopefully next time, it will be either technology or human intention.” And the legend Sachin Tendulkar has been vocal in this opposition on more than one occasions. “You have to find something that is close to 100 per cent. There were occasions in the past where we were not convinced at all. I thought the lines were not correct and that's my personal opinion,” Tendulkar had remarked perhaps reminiscing the 2008 tour of Sri Lanka where the Islanders had got 11 decisions in their favour and India only one.
Though times have changed, Team India is quite comfortable in basking in its disbelief, and to some extent disgust, over the UDRS, sitting pretty even after bitter sweet experiences last year at Mohali when a few blunders went against them. Nonetheless, the Indians draw heart from the fact that it won the opening thriller courtesy some courageous batting by the ever dependable VVS Laxman and some poor umpiring that prevented the last stave Pragyan Ojha from being knocked off. These though are not a redeeming factor for the BCCI has its own secret logic in never budging up for the ‘controversial’ UDRS. The very contention of having a ‘fool proof’ technology is highly contentious and this alone cannot overrule the facts that the UDRS has favoured teams that once felt swindled after a bad outing in the field and has reduced animosity between belligerent sides to a considerable extent. And given the nature of the series India would play in England, where the top two teams would fight to ratify their supremacy in the five-day format, it will not be surprising to see some fiery words being exchanged if some poor umpiring is seen.
“Anything that reduces the errors in the game will minimize tensions between teams and should be encouraged,” Sunil Gavaskar had written last winter in favour of the UDRS. Though the former India captain is not himself comfortable in challenging the umpires, yet he feels the provision should be considered as it would serve the cause. “Personally, I am not in favour of players challenging the umpires’ decisions but feel that it would be better for the on-field umpires to check with their colleague sitting in front of the TV for any decision about which they have doubts in their mind.” Animosity though may not bother the world’s richest cricket board for seldom has any Test playing nation risked it wrath. Recently Sri Lanka tried to tighten the screws but got tamed instead. However, the BCCI top brass need to understand that the UDRS does a lot of good to the game even though it is not technically ‘fool proof’, especially in the longer version of the game which is still grappling for survival after the T20 boom. With technology changing the course of a game well nigh a draw, the UDRS can also be seen as a boon for Test matches which the newer and impatient generation of cricket lovers has come to see as dull and monotonous.
