Batsmen can avail the opinion of dressing room for DRS, says Sanjay Manjrekar

What’s the story?

The ongoing Test match between India and Sri Lanka encountered controversy when Sri Lankan all-rounder Dilruwan Perera appeared to have taken the Decision Review System after getting some sort of an indication from the dressing room.

However, former Indian player and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has come out and said that batsmen should be given more leeway during DRS calls.

"I just feel, what we saw on television gave you the impression that there was some indication from the dressing room to go for the DRS. But obviously, there is no clear proof of that as that is something you need to back up the observation. But that clearly was the impression that I got," Manjrekar told reporters.

The details

Manjrekar also believed that if you're a batting team, and if the dressing room managed to convey its thoughts on the appeal within the stipulated 15 seconds, it should not be a huge deal.

He also advocated for a change in ruling as he believed that since the fielding side has 11 players to consult, the batsmen too should be able to take outside help if they so want, as people watching the action on TV will have better chances of taking the right call.

In case you didn’t know…

This incident happened during the 57th over the Sri Lankan innings when Dilruwan Perera was pinned in front of the stumps by Mohammed Shami. Umpire Nigel Llong sent him on his way but as he walked back, it appeared that he got some sort of a signal from the dressing room.

Perera turned back and reviewed and replays suggested that the impact was outside the line of off stump and thus he was saved.

What’s next?

The ICC had recently introduced a slew of rule changes to cricket, but they could well take a look at this particular incident and come up with a more firm and decisive ruling to shunt out any sort of controversy.

Author’s take

While there is merit in what Manjrekar is saying, but there has to be consistency in the way players take advantage of the dressing room and this can only happen when there is rule in place and that there is no room for any grey area.