About Time BCCI Embraced DRS?

Galle Test, Day 3, Dinesh Chandimal batting on 5. He gets a top edge and is caught. The umpire gives it not out. (The Comebacks By The Dead)

Four deliveries later, Lahiru Thirimanne is given not out, despite the fact that there was a thick inside edge. (Why Virat Kohli Has Been An Unlucky Captain)

11 balls later, Chandimal gets another reprieve. He was on 10 at that stage. (Chandimal, Herath And The Art Of A Turnaround)

The rest, as they say, is history. Chandimal went on to score 162, had a match changing 125-run sixth wicket partnership with Thirimanne and effectively, that is where India lost the Galle Test.

Human error is a part of cricket umpiring and both umpires had a bad day at the office, but India perhaps have only themselves to blame. After all if DRS was used, the decisions would have gone in India's favour and the outcome of the match could have been very different. This is of course not the first time India's opposition to technology is being questioned, though the team's stance on the issue might just be changing.

In December last year, India's previous Test captain MS Dhoni, who had always opposed the use of technology, had said, "DRS is often used to justify the decision of the umpires." After the Galle Test loss, India's current Test captain Virat Kohli said, "When the series is over, we will sit down and figure out how important it is or how much we want to use it."

In other words, Kohli has made it clear that the issue of DRS cannot be dismissed altogether. Why the BCCI has so staunchly been anti-DRS is something that has baffled many cricketers. Harbhajan Singh, who is part of the current squad in Sri Lanka, said last year, "I believe it's time that we accepted DRS as it will only benefit our cause." Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin has said, "When other cricket playing nations are not averse to using it (DRS) then why is India ignoring it?" While former India cricketer EAS Prasanna asked, "From the beginning, I have been vocal about using DRS. Why isn't it being used?"

It's no secret that India have not had a great experience with DRS. On their last tour of Sri Lanka in 2008, DRS was used and India got just one out of 20 referrals right. Maybe it's the memories of that tour that makes people question if DRS is 100 percent accurate.

So is there be a way in which the BCCI changes its stance without making it look like they have had to back down? Former India captain and NDTV cricket expert Sunil Gavaskar gave this solution some time ago, "Ideally, as I have always said, DRS should not be left to the players. It should be between the umpires. The umpires on the field and the TV umpire. I think that's the best way to go about it, so there are no limitations whatsoever."

That's something the BCCI can think about. After all, the rest of the cricketing world continues to use technology regularly. Is it time the Indian Board embraces it too?

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