Ranji Trophy 2019-20 | Very good to have DRS at least in knockouts, admits Abhimanyu Easwaran

A limited-option version of the DRS — without HawkEye, Snickometer or UltraEdge — will be in use in India’s domestic circuit for the first time when the 2019-20 Ranji semi-finals get underway at Rajkot and Kolkata on Saturday. The four semi-finalists — Bengal, Karnataka, Saurashtra, and Gujarat — will have a virtual pitch map (for lbw decisions) and slow-motion cameras to help, with each team getting as many as four reviews per innings. 

“It’s a new thing, but I think guys have seen enough cricket on television, so we know a bit of how it works. I think it’s a very good thing to have DRS in domestic cricket as well, especially in knockout games, semi-finals and final, even though there’s not that much technology. The umpires can make errors at times, but to rectify it, you have the technology and that will probably change the game for a team and that can probably be a deciding thing at a crucial point of the game” Easwaran told PTI.

Meanwhile, his coach and former India cricketer, Lal, expects the technology will help avoid howlers as his team prepares to take on Karnataka at the Eden Gardens. 

“I don’t have much experience with DRS. It’s of limited usage and hopefully, it might remove some of the major howlers,” Lal said. 

Senior-pro Manoj Tiwary, on the other hand, revealed that the team is set to discuss it with their video analyst and see best to utilize the tool. Bengal would be hopeful that their batting unit fires once again in the semi-finals against Karnataka if they fancy a chance of playing in the finals. Tiwary would be crucial to their chances of making it to the final stage. 

“We will talk about it with the video analyst, umpires and referee in the pre-match meeting. I will try to give my inputs from the slip cordon but I think it’s the bowler and the wicketkeeper who would be the best judge to take the call,” Tiwary said.