Published on 11:29 AM, January 26, 2016

DRS DILEMMA

Its ORS, not DRS for India now

Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowls to Australian batsman Aaron Finch with Indian captain M S Dhoni behind the wickets during the fourth ODI cricket match between India and Australia at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on January 20, 2016. Photo: AFP

A few days after Anurag Thakur, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary, revealed that the board is willing to adopt the Decision Review System (DRS) in an altered way, new details are emerging of what could be on the cards.

Times of India (TOI) has learned that the Indian team wants an Overall Review System (ORS) in place of the DRS, keeping in mind the 13 home Tests this season.

What it effectively mean is that other than leg-before decisions, which depends on the ball tracking system, the players are open to the use of technology for other decisions.

The reason for this, said an insider, is that India had been on the receiving end of umpiring howlers in the five-match One-Day International (ODI) series against Australia and prior to that in the away three-Test series against Sri Lanka last August.

In the 2016-17 season, India are scheduled to play Bangladesh (1 Test), New Zealand (3), England (5) and Australia (4), apart from an away four-Test series against the West Indies, and are keen to become the No. 1 red-ball team.

The home matches are likely to be played on turning tracks to be played on turning tracks and at times even the best of umpires get it wrong.

While we are still against the ball-tracking technology, we dont want to miss out on bat-pad decisions, which we did in Sri Lanka last year, a source said.

India should have won 3-0 against Sri Lanka but for poor umpiring decisions. Dinesh Chandimal was out not once but thrice after the umpires failed to detect the edges and he went on to win the match for his team by scoring a hundred. Similarly here with (George) Bailey and (Glenn) Maxwell.

Ishant Sharma of India (L) celebrates after taking the wicket of Aaron Finch of Australia (R). File Photo: AFP