June 27 (Reuters) – The use of the Decision Review System
(DRS) in international cricket will remain at the discretion of
teams involved in bilateral series’ after the sport’s governing
body on Wednesday opted against making it mandatory.
The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) cricket committee
and chief executives had recommended the full adoption of the
DRS, which allows teams to appeal against an umpire’s decision,
after expressing satisfaction with technology enhancements in
the system.
But the ICC’s executive board, chaired by India’s Sharad
Pawar, decided to maintain the status quo after a two-day
meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
“…the ICC Board agreed to continue with the present
arrangement where the two competing nations in a bilateral
series decide on the use of DRS,” the ICC said in a statement.
The Indian cricket board (BCCI), which has always been
sceptical of the technology used in the DRS, had said earlier
this week they continue to believe “the system is not
foolproof”.
“The (BCCI) board also sticks to its view that the decision
on whether or not to use the DRS for a particular series should
be left to the boards involved in that series,” BCCI secretary
Sanjay Jagdale said in a statement on Monday.
The ICC’s executive board did, however, agree to an increase
in the number of permitted short-pitched deliveries from one to
two per over in 50-over internationals.
One-day cricket’s ‘powerplays’ will be restricted to the
first 10 overs plus one five-over batting powerplay to be
completed by the 40th over and only four fielders will be
allowed outside the 30-yard circle.
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Tom
Bartlett)
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