The former ICC elite panel umpire Simon Taufel argued that DRS for wide calls would stretch the match too long. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, however, believes it should be a welcome move.
The umpiring standards in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League have been at an all-time low, with plenty of bad calls resulting in some controversies. Rajasthan Royals spinner Yuzvendra Chahal recently suggested that allowing DRS reviews for close wide calls could avoid many game-changing moments.
The player wasn’t happy with the umpire’s decision to call a wide in their match against Lucknow Super Giants, which ended up costing the leg-spinner extra seven runs as he was hammered for a six by Marcus Stoinis on the extra delivery. Rajasthan won the game, but Chahal stated that such close calls give advantage to the batters, in a game that’s already dominated by batters.
Simon Taufel, one of the highly respected figures in the cricketing sphere, believes some modifications are needed but doesn’t approve the idea of offering reviews for wide calls. He argued that the matches are already taking too much time to finish and allowing reviews for non-wicket purposes could lead to more delayed games.
“How much time are all these reviews going to take out of the playing time? Only last year, some commentators were complaining about how an ODI finished 30 minutes past the scheduled cut-off. You cannot have a quick game and also analyze every ball,”
Taufel said.
Ravi Shastri, former India head coach and a current commentator, has an opposite view to Taufel. He thinks a close could be a game-changer and could cost a team at an important moment. Shastri said that when you have the technology, why not use it even if it delays the match by a bit.
“I agree because that could be a game-changer. The match could go into the last ball and 12-15 runs needed in the last over, a no-ball at that stage could make a lot of difference. You have the technology, use it,”
he stated.
