Will look to probably introduce DRS in future: Kohli

Kolkata Sep 29 (IANS) In a sharp departure from the stance taken by the team management and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) earlier, India's Test captain Virat Kohli on Thursday indicated 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 second Test against New Zealand at the Eden Gardens here.

Kohli divulged there have been "meetings and discussions" about it and DRS is something they "definitely want to think about".

"Those are the things I can't say yes or no to sitting here," Kohli said about DRS, which the BCCI has strongly objected to - the only board to take such a position - in the past, arguing it is not "foolproof".

Kohli's predecessor as Test captain M.S. Dhoni, who now leads the team in the limited-over formats, has also consistently opposed DRS by extending the same logic.

"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 ball-tracking and HawkEye. But, all in all, obviously when you feel that - I personally feel these things can be discussed and debated on," said Kohli.

BCCI President Anurag Thakur said last month that India was ready to accept DRS, but without HawkEye.

In the past, India has often been victim of umpiring decisions which could have been easily rectified had the DRS been used in those games.

In fact, Kiwi captain Kane Williamson nicked a caught behind in the first innings of the first Test at Kanpur which was not given.

Asked about it, Kohli said: "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."

Virtually batting for DRS, which is now used in all Test matches not featuring India and International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments, Kohli said grey areas could be sorted out once DRS was in place.

"Once DRS is in place, 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."

Speaking about the second Test match starting on Friday at the Eden Gardens, Kohli hoped the pitch would be good to bat on.

"We have got all the bases covered as far as our team is concerned. It looks like a normal wicket like we expect at the Eden Gardens. The surface looks nice. It should be a good wicket to bat on," Kohli said.

Asked if off-spinner Jayant Yadav has been drafted only as a cover for sick pacer Ishant Sharma, Kohli said, "Jayant is not there as cover. Ishant would have started if he was fit. We already have three quicks. We don't feel we need any more. There are five left handers in their batting line-up so adding another off spinner was the whole idea."

The Indian team has the habit of practicing batting with rubber balls. Kohli paid special attention to the pull shot, which got him out in the first test at Kanpur, at practice on Wednesday.

Quizzed about it, he said, "It was because we play three formats. We sometimes tend to go with the flow. So it's important to work on your skills that bring in stability to your game. It's just about repeating those things. It's about controlling the ball that's bouncing and not coming at pace."

--IANS

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