DRS in Ranji Trophy matches, doing away with toss discussed at BCCI's captains’ & coaches’ conclave

Like in international cricket, ideas are also being floated in domestic cricket to bring in changes. At the two-day annual conclave of domestic captains and coaches hosted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Mumbai, issues, like introducing the Decision Review System (DRS) and doing away with the coin toss the allow to let the visiting team decide on batting or bowling first, were discussed.

There they also took stock of the season that went by and sought feedback and suggestions to make India’s domestic cricket more competitive and inclusive. Former India wicketkeeper and BCCI GM (Cricket Operations) Saba Karim said the occasion only saw discussions and exchanges of ideas. Decisions on implementing them can’t be taken at the conclave and said those will be raised before the board and the Committee of Administrators that runs them.

The business end of the last Ranji Trophy saw poor umpiring favouring sides and there were calls to introduce the DRS in the domestic cricket as well. The number of teams in the domestic competition have increased and that could push more pressure on the pool of umpires. The semi-final game between Saurashtra and Karnataka came under the scanner with the former’s batsman, Cheteshwar Pujara, survived a caught-behind appeal and his team benefitted from that, leaving the opponents distraught.

“The umpiring standards in domestic cricket were discussed. It is an on-going process and it can’t be rectified overnight. We didn’t discuss about restarting the Umpire’s Academy but we have been having seminars and lessons for umpires from time-to-time and we’ll continue to have those,” Saba Karim was quoted as saying by CricketNext.

Discussions were also held with the selectors and coaches, especially in women’s cricket. He said the country’s domestic women’s cricket schedule is busier and said more India A women’s tours were set to be witnessed in the upcoming season.

No talks on IPL umpiring standards

The conclave though did not feature talks on the dubious umpiring standards witnessed in the recently concluded Indian Premier League. Star cricketers like Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni were livid with the umpiring in some games with Dhoni even storming into the field in one game to challenge the on-field officials’ decision.

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