India board unconvinced by DRS ball-tracking tech

Author: 
AGENCIES
Publication Date: 
Sat, 2011-06-18 20:21

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has recommended the mandatory use of DRS, under which teams currently can make two unsuccessful appeals against an umpire's decision per innings, in all formats of the game.
"The BCCI would like to reiterate that it does not accept the reliability of the ball-tracking technology, which is an integral part of the DRS," Board of Control for Cricket in India Secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement.
"The BCCI's position has been consistent." Srinivasan said in May that the world's richest and most powerful cricket board would oppose DRS' mandatory use in all international matches when the topic is discussed at the International Cricket Council's June 26-30 meeting in Hong Kong.
"Look, we don't have any problems with the Snickometer or Hot Spot and we have informed this to the ICC. But the Hawk Eye is yet to convince us ... this technology is basically based on assumption," Srinivasan told Saturday's Indian Express newspaper.
The Snickometer is used to detect the ball catching an edge, while Hot Spot gives a more convincing indication of the ball's point of contact. Hawk Eye technology, which is used more often, replicates the ball's trajectory.
"Nothing much has changed since we first opposed it. We welcome technology when it is 100 percent error free," Srinivasan, also the board's president-elect, added. "In this case it is not, so we would continue to oppose." The board's resistance has meant DRS will not be used in India's tour of England starting next month.
The technology has polarized opinion in India with senior players Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni having reservations about the ball-tracking technology even though team mate Virender Sehwag and former coach Gary Kirsten are in favor of its use.

Meanwhile, Test cricket will return to Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium after five years when it hosts a Test match between India and the West Indies later this year.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Saturday announced that Wankhede Stadium, which was unsuitable for host Tests while undergoing renovations for the World Cup, would be a venue for the three-test series along with New Delhi and Kolkata.
The BCCI also announced Kolkata, Mumbai, Mohali, Hyderabad and New Delhi as the venues for an upcoming five-match, one-day series against England. Kolkata will also host the solitary Twenty20 international during that tour.
The West Indies and England are due to tour India between October and December, but the itinerary has not been finalized.
 

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