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India to oppose review system

India’s powerful cricket board on Thursday said it would continue to oppose the umpire decision review system despite a recommendation for its use in all international games.

Following a two-day meeting at Lord’s, the cricket committee of the International Cricket Council (ICC) recommended on Wednesday that the review system be used across all international games.

The decision on whether to extend the use of the technology will now be taken by the ICC’s executive board in June.

“I am a member of the executive board. We will put forward the BCCI’s position, which is very clear right from the start, when the executive board meets,” N. Srinivasan, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), told AFP.

India have been sceptical of the system, which allows teams to question an umpire’s on-field decision, ever since it was introduced on a trial basis during their tour of Sri Lanka in 2008.

The Indians struggled with the referrals, getting only one right, while Sri Lanka successfully challenged 11 decisions.

India’s stance hardened further following a controversial lbw decision during their tied World Cup match with England, when Ian Bell was given not out even though replays suggested otherwise.

“The inadequacy of the UDRS has been exposed in this edition of the World Cup,” an angry BCCI said in a letter to the ICC following the Bell incident.

“The group stage match between India and England was a case in point which clearly brought out the inadequacy of the system.”

But Dave Richardson, the ICC’s general manager for cricket, was confident of changing Indian views.

“The level of believability in ball-tracking systems has improved,” Richardson said Wednesday. “Hopefully, member boards and the India board will take cognisance of that.”