Dhoni and Sangakkara on Opposite Sides of the UDRS Fence
Even as India and Sri Lanka prepare to face each other in the first Test match of the series between the two sides on July 18th at Galle, the debate on the use of technology in international cricket continues to rage on. Cricket already uses technology for run-outs and stumping decision, but the latest in line is the UDRS, or the Umpire Decision Review System, which has been in the experimenting stage for the last two years.
The problem with the UDRS is that not all the countries have bought the concept. Some, especially the Indians, are sceptical about the usage of the system given that they had had a rough end of the system in the only series they had used it in and that has meant that there is no uniformity in who can use it and who cannot.
The other issue associated with making UDRS compulsory is the high cost associated with the technology. There are three parties who are passing the buck on to each other when it comes to bearing the cost and this includes the cricket board, the official broadcaster, and the ICC.
The ICC has said that the host nation along with the official broadcaster of the games should bear the costs. However, the cricket boards like BCCI have opposed the move citing the costs as one of the factors. They have said that they will not take the costs associated with this technology on board. Speaking from the broadcaster’s point of view, they would have already paid a huge sum of money to acquire the rights to show the game live and to add to the costs can hardly make sense to them.
However, according to the Sri Lankan captain, Kumar Sangakkara, it is necessary that the UDRS gets used by the ICC on a consistent basis in much the same manner as the third umpire is being used now. Sangakkara appealed to the ICC to ensure that there is no board which can refuse the use of this technology, because according to him, it can only be good for the game.
Sangakkara has also said the ICC should bear part of the costs associated with the system, so that it does not become too difficulty for the broadcaster.
Sangakkara feigned ignorance about the fact the standards had not yet been set for the use of the system. He added that there had been occasions in the past, when the system was not used and the side had struggled thanks to the wrong decision-making from the umpires.
The ICC has mandated that the UDRS can only be used if both the hosts and the touring sides are fine by it, and in this case of the series between http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758, the BCCI has refused the usage.
India had their own issues with the UDRS in the previous series between the two sides, as 11 of their decisions that they had referred to the third umpire had gone against them. Sri Lanka had gotten the better deal out of it, as they had only one decision overturned against them.
Sangakkara acknowledged this fact but said that there would be flaws with every system, but that did not mean that the system was not good.
On his part, the Indian captain, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028 said that they would accept the usage of the system only if it were to be a 100% perfect system. He also added that given most of the sides had experienced the usage of the system, there was a need to come up with something of a fool-proof plan.
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