India's poor DRS success ratio in Test cricket calls for better understanding of the concept

New Delhi: He may have been a vocal advocate of Decision Review System (DRS) but Indian captain Virat Kohli’s dismal success ratio indicates that calling for referrals is not exactly his ‘calling card’. The five-match England series against India was start of India using Decision Review System – something they had strong reservations during Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s era under N Srinivasan’s regime.

[caption id=“attachment_3298916” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Indian cricket team. AP[/caption] But in the seven Test matches since the start of DRS usage, India have got only 17 correct decisions out of the 55 referrals that they have taken. This comprise both batting and fielding statistic and the success percentage comes to a mere 30.9 percent.

In a few cases, it has been act of desperation bordering on selfishness as it has been the case with Murali Vijay and KL Rahul wasting two reviews within first six overs during the Pune Test. It didn’t matter as Indians were outplayed fair and square by the Australians but it could have cost dearly had someone like Virat Kohli played a big innings and then got a raw deal. The problem with India has been more to do with referrals while fielding where they have got only 10 correct out of 42 that they have taken in seven Test matches. While batting it has been touch better with 7 successful reviews out of 13 taken. While the final call for a fielding team’s DRS rests with the captain, it is the close in fielders who have fluffed their lines including wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha, who have not been able to get their concepts right about umpire’s call. Normally an umpire’s call is very rarely reversed in case of leg before referrals even if any part of the ball is shown to slightly graze the bails in ‘Ball Tracking system’. Wriddhiman has been a fabulous keeper for India but probably has not been able to assert his authority when Virat is needed to take a final call. He once got it right in Hyderabad when the skipper was batting 180 plus and took his suggestion after being adjudged leg-before off Mehedi Hasan Miraz. Wriddhiman had then felt that Kohli’s long stride while defending means that the off-break may be missing leg. It turned out to be correct and the skipper got his world record fourth double hundred. But behind the stumps, not always Wriddhiman’s suggestions has been correct. Former India wicketkeeeper Deep Dasgupta, who is now an analyst feels that one should get it clear that DRS is there to help the umpires get it rather than other way round. “DRS should be strictly used for howlers. And it is a tool to help umpires be as accurate as possible. For me an umpire’s call should only be challenged in case of leg before if a player is absolutely sanguine that he has had an inside edge onto the pads,” Dasgupta told PTI today. “Every batsman knows if he has had an edge or not. So if anyone thinks that ball tracker will help him, he should get the concept right. As far as fielding team’s referrals are concerned, the wicketkeeper should be the DRS captain. He should be assertive enough if need be to tell the skipper that don’t go for it. The keeper’s conviction makes it easier for the skipper,” Dasgupta added. In Pune, on a turner, India wasted all 4 reviews while fielding and got one correct out of the three while batting. So it was one out of seven referrals. Only thrice have they have got more than 2 referrals correct in a single Test match. Against England at Visakhapatnam, hosts had 3 out of 9 correct referrals and 3 out of 10 in Chennai. The Bangladesh match at Hyderabad was shade better with 5 out of 11 correct calls.