adminDavid Richardson, who succeeded Haroon Lorgat at the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) helm, admitted nearly all players and umpires backed the Decision Review System (DRS), which checks whether batsmen should be given out. But, signalling a softly-softly approach towards the ICC’s richest and most influential member,
Richardson said he wouldn’t try to force India to lower its staunch opposition to the technology. The ICC was left red-faced at annual talks this week when chief executives proposed mandatory DRS in Tests and one-day internationals, only for the board to reject the move and leave it as a decision for the two competing sides. India was the only country to publicly oppose universal use of the ball-tracking and thermal-imaging system, and wields strong influence over the board owing to the revenues from its huge fan-base.
“The point is that the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) need to make that decision for themselves,” Richardson told a press conference.
“It’s never good to take anyone kicking and screaming to do anything.
“The introduction of technology has always been controversial . . but slowly but surely that’s changed and I think we’re pretty much at that point where everyone is accepting, certainly at international level.
“I don’t think (the decision is) negative at all. We’ll be seeing DRS used in the majority of series going forward and there would be no sense in forcing anything upon anybody.” — AFP.
Online Reporter