ganguly-jay-shah-ranji-trophy-sportstiger

Picture Credit: Twitter

Amidst the proceedings of the 2022 Ranji Trophy final between Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh, several reports have surfaced about the application of the Decision Review System in India’s first-class tournament. As per various Indian news outlets, the Board for Cricket Control in India BCCI has deemed the usage of the DRS system to be expensive. 

Reports also say that others involved in the situation have expressed the need to trust the officials who have done this even before the DRS system. As report, a source from BCCI said, “We believe in our umpires. It’s an expensive exercise to use the DRS. The costs shoot up. How does it matter if there’s no DRS in the final? It’s time we trusted the umpires.”

It’s time we trusted the umpires: formal India player

Similarly, A former India player also addressed the issue and talked about how we should trust the on-field officials as the final has the country’s best umpires in KN Ananthapadmanabhan and Virender Sharma. He then addressed the financial issue regarding the usage of DRS in domestic games.

“It’s an expensive exercise to use the DRS. The costs shoot up. How does it matter if there’s no DRS in the final? It’s time we trusted the umpires. India’s two best umpires are officiating in this game. And what’s the end result? If you use it in the final, you will want to introduce it in the league stage of the Ranji Trophy," the player was quoted saying.

The argument will then be that why not for all televised games: Source

Another source talked about the cost of putting and dismantling the equipment is also high and then talked about how this request will lead to a demand for implementing DRS in all televised games. The source said, “The rigging (wiring) of all the equipment will be extremely costly.”

“HawkEye means extra cameras needed. Ranji is done with limited equipment. The argument will then be that why not for all televised games. Look, you can’t have a half-baked DRS. The last time, it was used for limited replays to see if there was an edge or not. You can’t use the ball trajectory — a critical element of DRS" the source added.