Introduction of DRS primary concern during BCCI domestic conclave

DRS has been around on the international cricket stage for a long time now but has failed to make its debut in domestic cricket in India up until now. It is a popular feature in the IPL and will also be a part of the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup which starts on May 30.  However, due to a string of poor umpiring decisions in the last Ranji Trophy season, the coaches and captains of domestic teams have put forth a proposal to introduce it in this year’s Ranji season at the recent BCCI conclave held on Friday.

During the meeting, the captains and coaches called for the introduction of DRS for televised (television and digital broadcast) Ranji Trophy games.

2018-19 season’s Ranji semifinal between Saurashtra and Karnataka had multiple umpiring howlers which saw batsman Cheteshwar Pujara given a not out despite a huge nick and he went on to score a century that changed the course of the match.

“Indian cricket has spread across the country and we now have teams from the North East competing in the BCCI domestic tournaments. While teams like Mumbai and Karnataka dominated the premier tournaments, the emergence of Vidarbha as champions in the past few seasons have proved we now have a very competitive domestic structure,” BCCI acting president C K Khanna told PTI sources.

In addition to the DRS proposal, there was a discussion on doing away with the coin toss and letting the visiting team make a decision on whether to bat or bowl first.

“This is an extremely important forum and I am very happy that we now have a separate conclave to review women’s cricket. It is an important stage as key stakeholders of Indian cricket converge under one roof and discuss the way forward.

“I am confident that the upcoming season will be even bigger and better and we will continue to strengthen the standard of the sport across all age groups,” BCCI CEO Rahul Johri added.