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News

'Definitely' want to think about DRS - Kohli

India's Test captain, Virat Kohli, has given a strong indication that India will start using DRS in the future

Sidharth Monga
Sidharth Monga
29-Sep-2016
India's Test captain, Virat Kohli, has given a strong indication that India will start using the Decision Review System (DRS) in the future. "We will certainly look to probably introduce it [DRS] in future," Kohli said on the eve of the Kolkata Test against New Zealand.
India have been the biggest opponents of DRS for a while now, but Kohli said that there have been discussions and meetings about it, and DRS is something they "definitely want to think about". This is a big departure from the previous captain's views and BCCI president Anurag Thakur's ambivalent musings. MS Dhoni always opposed DRS because it was not 100%, and Thakur recently wondered, if the machine is going to make the same error as humans, "what are we getting out of it"?
Kohli still had reservations about the system, but he seemed convinced about the merits of having a review system. It is noteworthy that under Kohli's captaincy India have been at the receiving end of calls that could have been reversed easily under DRS in two Tests where the said decisions made a big difference. India ended up losing those two Tests - Adelaide in 2014-15 and Galle in 2015. In the Adelaide chase, where India came close to beating Australia, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane were sent back when DRS would have recalled them. In Galle, Sri Lanka mounted an incredible comeback in the second innings, but both their heroes, Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne, would have been out in single figures had DRS been there.
"Those are the things I can't say yes or no to sitting here," Kohli said about DRS. "But these are the things we have discussed. These are things we have had meetings on. Because there were some areas that we felt can be debated. Especially the ball-tracking and HawkEye. But, all in all, obviously when you feel that - I personally feel these things can be discussed and debated on.
"We wouldn't take [wrong umpiring] decisions too hard because we, in the first place, decided we would not use DRS. For us to then say that the umpires made an error and it is going against us, it is not logical. There is no room for excuses. Once DRS is in place, once DRS is up and running for us as well, then you can sit and think what are the grey areas. As I said these things have been spoken about. We want to definitely think about it. but I can't make a decision sitting here right now. It's something we have had discussions on."
As it stands now, no other team in the world opposes DRS even if there isn't enough technology available with the host broadcasters. Every Test not featuring India has DRS, except Zimbabwe's recent Tests, when they couldn't afford it. In ICC 50-over tournaments, India are forced to use DRS, but that uniformity does not extend to Test matches because they are seen as bilateral arrangements.

Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo