The final of the Ranji Trophy 2021-22 began in Bengaluru on Wednesday, with 41-time champions Mumbai taking on Madhya Pradesh. At the end of the game, Mumbai had reached 248/5 with an unbeaten 40 with Sarfaraz Khan in the company of Shams Mulani (12*) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
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Interestingly, the Ranji Trophy summit, India’s premier red-ball competition, is being played without the Decision Review System (DRS). And its absence could trouble Madhya Pradesh as in-form Sarfaraz saved the opening day pacer Gaurav Yadav with a close call for lbw.
It is reminiscent of the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy semi-final clash between Saurashtra and Karnataka when India’s batting star Cheteshwar Pujara got the advantage twice as DRS was not used for the match. Pujara was twice out on catch-back, but was declared not out and since there was no review system in place, he scored 45 (1st innings) and an unbeaten 131 (2nd innings) as Saurashtra won by five wickets Of.
The Times of India quoted sources as saying that the BCCI has faith in its on-field officials and this technology is very expensive.
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“We trust our umpires,” the daily quoted a BCCI official as saying.
A former India player says India’s top two umpires – KN Ananthapadmanabhan and Virender Sharma – are steering the game and we must trust them.
“Using DRS is an expensive exercise. Expenses increase. What difference does it make if there is no DRS in the final. Now is the time to trust the umpires. Two of India’s best umpires are officiating in this game. And what is the end result? If you use it in the final, you will want to introduce it in the league stage of Ranji Trophy.
Another source lamented the cost of installing and dismantling the equipment, claiming to demand the implementation of DRS in all television games.
“The wiring and rigging of all the equipment will be extremely costly. Hawkeye means the need for additional cameras. Ranji is done with limited equipment. The argument then would be why not for all television games. Look, you can’t have a half-ripe Drs. Last time, it was used for limited replays to see if there was an edge. You can’t use the ball trajectory – an important element of the DRS,” the source said.
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