The use of UDRS technology in the IPL

The Umpire Decision Review System has been introduced by the ICC in the cricket world cup. It is said to decrease the possibility for an umpire to make a mistake from 8% to 3%. However, the BCCI has rejected UDRS.

A fast bowler bowling for an IPL team is running up to the crease to bowl the next delivery. This is a do-or-die match for both the teams playing, as a win for either side will result in that side proceeding to the play-offs. After a month of “down to the wire” matches along with highs and lows, it all comes down to this. The ball is released from the bowlers hand and at a supersonic speed of 163 kmph hurtles towards the batsman. The batsman, taken aback by the speed of the ball, tries to defend the ball but at the eleventh hour (or eleventh millisecond I should say) the ball acquires some swing in the air, misses the batsman’s bat and hits his pad instead. The bowler, confident that the ball was in the line of the stumps and if unobstructed, would have hit one of the three wooden sticks which are so very important in the game of cricket, appeals to the umpire screaming as loudly as he can. The umpire doesn’t raise his finger. The game carries on as usual, but the bowler feels cheated of a wicket, which may have changed the result of the game altogether. Such a situation is over in not more than 18-20 seconds, but its effect is tremendous. This type of incident is not only restricted to bowlers, but to batsmen as well.

Today, in almost every game of cricket umpires use the replay system to check for stump-outs or run-outs or when the need arises. It has become a part and parcel of the game. Developments in technologies can cause the “benefit of the doubt is given to the batsmen” rule to change. Has the BCCI rejected the UDRS technology as India has always been a stronger batting force than bowling, and the board feels that it will only cause the harm of their batsmen, or is it just because they find it too expensive?

It is not certain that a 100% chance is there of making the correct decision with the help of UDRS technology, however, even if it may not change the result or outcome of the game, it at least assures the batsman or bowler that the umpires decision was right. Sometimes, as all human beings do, even umpires make mistakes. Using UDRS technology does not in any way undermine the power of the umpire, but rather it is a way of creating the atmosphere of fairer game play.

The IPL is a cricket tournament where in many matches, the results are decided not before the last ball is bowled. Fielders dive and throw themselves around to save every run, as they know that even one run can decide the result of a game. In the very first edition of the IPL itself, the winners, Rajasthan Royals defeated Chennai Super Kings by the margin of one run to put their hands on the trophy in the Finals. It is possible that with bowlers bowling deliveries faster than 160 kmph ,the umpire loses his concentration for a millisecond and might, therefore, make an incorrect decision. Even though this technology might just change the decision once in hundred appeals, it is a step towards making the game more fair, and that one change might result in a different winner emerging from the match and even from the tournament.

With an annual income of more than 190 crore rupees, it is foolish of one to say that the BCCI can’t afford such technology. So, wrong or right? Well, we will never know that but one can only hope for a step in the right direction.