Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar shared his opinion on one of the most debated subjects in cricket, the Decision Review System (DRS). Tendulkar expressed his dissatisfaction with the current format of the DRS and criticized the umpire’s call.
During his speech at the India Today Conclave, Sachin Tendulkar suggested that the umpires should rely on technology rather than the decision of the on-field umpire. He expressed his concern about the current DRS format, stating that the mix between the umpire’s call and the DRS call is leading to confusion and disorder.
Sachin Tendulkar on the DRS system
“I completely disagree with the current format, if the ball is hitting the stumps, it’s out, and if not, the batter continues to bat. When someone, either the batter or bowler, is unhappy with the on-field umpire’s call and that’s why they go to the third umpire. Then why are they going back to the decision of the on-field umpire? If you’ve decided to go that route (with technology), then go that route. But what we’re trying to do is mixing both things, and I disagree,” Tendulkar said.
Furthermore, Tendulkar mentioned that he would have welcomed the use of reviews during his playing days. He also acknowledged that both technology and humans are fallible and that prior to DRS, umpires made mistakes that could have caused a team to lose.
“Quite a few, I couldn’t count them on my fingers for sure (when asked how many times he would’ve referred to DRS if it existed during his playing days). I would have loved it, without any doubt. Some decisions go in your favour, some go against you as well. We’re only pointing fingers at technology, but it’s not fool-proof and so are humans. Before DRS, there were blatant mistakes made and because of those mistakes and because a third person was deciding the fate, matches were either lost or won,” he added.
