MS Dhoni wasn’t a big fan of DRS, Virat Kohli is: Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra, the former Indian cricketer, said that MS Dhoni, the former Indian skipper, wasn’t quite fond of the Decision Review System (DRS) technology. In 2008, the DRS came to the fore and India was the first team to use it in a Test match against Sri Lanka in Colombo. Virender Sehwag fell prey to Muttiah Muralitharan and became the first batter to be dismissed though the review system.

Anil Kumble was the captain of the series, not Dhoni, and from there on India were against using the technology. After the game, Kumble said that the DRS was still “an experiment”, but Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardena was in support of the system. Chopra didn’t mince any words in saying that Dhoni didn’t like the DRS one bit.

“India was the first team to use DRS in around 2008 during a series against Sri Lanka. MS Dhoni was not the captain of the team, Anil Kumble was. We took some really bad DRS calls in that series,” Chopra told to broadcaster Sawera Pasha in her Youtube show Cric Cast.

Virat wants DRS in every match, says Aakash Chopra

However, Chopra reckons that under Virat Kohli’s leadership, India have learnt the art of using the technology to good effect. Chopra, who played 10 Tests in his career, called the 31-year-old Virat a “huge fan of the DRS”.

“I have been a fan of DRS from Day 1. If you ask me, if you do not embrace technology, then you won’t improve it. But I was not playing back then. The fact is Dhoni didn’t like it one bit. So, if he didn’t like it, India won’t use it.

“Now things have changed since Kohli has become the captain. He is a huge fan of DRS. He wants DRS in every match – be it IPL, or Ranji match – in any match. Now the thought has changed that embrace the technology, take it forward and make it better,” Chopra added.

Even as India have gotten used to the DRS at the international level, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has also been using the technology since the 2018 edition.