Dhoni backs umpires over DRS

[Laaloo]

India will not support the DRS until they are convinced that the technology is 100% perfect, captain MS Dhoni has reiterated. Coming to Australia, India were under pressure to agree to the use of the DRS, in part because Channel 9, the host broadcasters, use some of the best technology available in their production of home Tests. However, India did not budge, and Dhoni said his experience in England, where there were several incidents that suggested Hot Spot was not completely accurate, played a part in making that call. "I still put my money on the umpires because they have been doing the job [for a long time]," Dhoni said. "It is just that the pressure on them is growing with plenty of technology around. We feel the technology is not 100% accurate. At times you see an edge on Hot Spot, sometimes you don't see anything happening. Before the start of the England series I was a big fan of Hot Spot. The way things went in England I don't have the same kind of confidence. If it is not 100% I will still go with the umpires. This is a game in which people commit mistakes. If the bowler doesn't commit a mistake the batsman can't get runs. If the batsman doesn't commit a mistake the bowler doesn't get a wicket. So we'll make umpires too a part of it." The DRS refused to die as a topic of debate because in the Melbourne Test there were many potentially match-turning decisions that could have been overturned had they been reviewed. Michael Hussey would not have been dismissed for a golden duck and Ed Cowan could, possibly, have continued batting in the first innings. The decision to adjudge Cowan caught-behind is an interesting grey zone with the DRS because there was a sound at the exact time the ball went past the bat but Hot Spot did not show an edge. In the past the umpires have acted just on the sound. Ironically, It was India who could have had more decisions reversed than Australia. They could have got Ricky Ponting out early in his second innings, and they had Michael Hussey lbw twice and caught down the leg side once. It is all a matter of conjecture, but India could actually have won the match had they agreed to the use of the DRS, and used it wisely. Dhoni, though, did not want to go down that route. "What is important is that if a mistake is committed by the umpire, it should not affect him," he said. "If as an umpire you give something out when it's not-out, you don't need to go into your shell thinking you have made a wrong decision. If the next ball the umpire feels it is out, he should boldly give the decision. "We are happy to go that way because it is a difficult job for the umpires. We come back to our dressing-room after bowling and only two batsmen go out to bat, but these are the people who stand there for five days. Cricket has been in good shape for long enough with two people in charge. They don't need to worry too much about what technology is going around, about what will show on Hot Spot and what will show on Snicko. We need to back their decisions. If mistakes are not committed intentionally, I am perfectly fine with it." Dhoni went on to take a dig at the numbers the ICC provides regarding the number of correct decisions made by umpires. "You'll have to see what exactly the ICC sees as correct decisions. Giving a boundary is a correct decision; that also goes in favour of the umpires. You have to categorically say this is what it is." Dhoni's mistrust of technology would have grown when India appealed for an lbw against Brad Haddin in the first innings and the ball-tracking service failed to show a projection due to lighting issues. That was a pretty adjacent call, but India wouldn't have enjoyed the benefit of the DRS had it been in use. So even if the DRS was a part of this series we would still have had as large, if not larger, a controversy on the first day itself. Hussey would have survived, Cowan's fate would have been decided subjectively by the third umpire, and Haddin would have continued batting. http://www.espncricinfo.com/australia-v-india-2011/content/current/story/547436.html#comments

[Shawn]

"What is important is that if a mistake is committed by the umpire, it should not affect him," What is important is to make sure that the umpire gets a 2nd chance to rectify that mistake in order to make the correct decision. Dhoni should stop behaving like a moron :((

[bulbul]

Dhoni trying to be nice with onfield umpires :winky:

[BeautifulGame]

This pathetic from Dhoni.Our players are acting like if it is still stone age. We all blame BCCI for UDRS but the whole blame should lie on senior players like Dhoni Sachin and Gambhir who are opposed to it.BCCI are only supporting our stupid stubborn players players which is understandable.

[Lord]

:facepalm:

[cowboysfan]

Nothing to be said,these guys are morons.

[gaurav92]

:wall:

[ch1234]

Already we, fans, are down with the team's dismal perforamnce.. Now this stupid comment also.. Captain sucks..

[saneindian]

MSD you are a hypocrite. This is what you said in WI after the first test "If the correct decisions were made the game would have finished much earlier and I would have been in the hotel by now" Dhoni slams umpiring, says decisions were incorrect Give up this moral high ground and say yes to DRS. Even in this test, we got one decision in our favour (Hussey) and 4 against us (Hussey LBW and caught down the leg side, Haddin lbw and Punter lbw shout). Time to wakeup to reality.

[Laaloo]

^^Hussey was lbw twice

[Needforspeed]

Can't blame Dhoni. He just said the politically correct thing.When BCCI is against DRS, don't expect the Indian captain to take a different stance. He may or may not have a different opinion, but publicly he has to back BCCI.

[Lord]

Can't blame Dhoni. He just said the politically correct thing.When BCCI is against DRS' date=' don't expect the Indian captain to take a different stance. He may or may not have a different opinion, but publicly he has to back BCCI.[/quote'] why would BCCI refuse DRS if players want it?

[Dhoni_fan]

Can't blame Dhoni. He just said the politically correct thing.When BCCI is against DRS' date=' don't expect the Indian captain to take a different stance. He may or may not have a different opinion, but publicly he has to back BCCI.[/quote'] Absolutely he is the skipper publically he has to back to BCCI! Dravid has indicated he is in favour of it but if he was captain I am sure he would not have done so

[Tiger80]

India will not support the DRS until they are convinced that the technology is 100% perfect,

Which technology in the world can give 100% results? even after spending billions of $ nobody can assure you of 100% accuracy.

[Singham]

Obviously dhoni has no guts at all to speak anything against bcci's policy. He is like any other indian captain these days. The dhoni who smashed pak all over the park in the 2006 is nowhere to be seen these days.

[BERGKAMP]

:finger: @ Dhoni :finger: @ Sachin :finger: @ BCCI Move with the fakkin times. Makes me mad!

[Serani]

Dhoni should just focus on his batting, he is looking like some tail end slogger every time he goes out to bat, cringe worthy.

[Clarke]

Can't blame Dhoni. He just said the politically correct thing.When BCCI is against DRS' date=' don't expect the Indian captain to take a different stance. He may or may not have a different opinion, but publicly he has to back BCCI.[/quote'] Oh please, he's Mr. MSD. Will the BCCI threaten him ? If he comes out with a statement that the BCCI is considering dropping him because of his stance on DRS, the BCCI's had it. Compared to the crooked politicians who call the shots in BCCI, Dhoni is a national hero. To think of it, that might be the only way scumbag Pawar actually loses an election. +++

[akshayxyz]

gazillionth time - DRS is not supposed to be 100% fool proof, however it does give an opportunity to overturn some of the howlers at least... even if it is 5% improvement over existing setup - it should be embraced and improved upon. And the option should be about, which technology to use for assisting in DRS - and not whether to use DRS at all. Incremental improvements and further evolution should be preferred instead of waiting forever for 100% fix.

[Asim]

Thanks to BCCI & its blessed players & commentators & Media, Loosks like India might NEVER opt for DRS... & Its only going to hurt them but... fine... Lagay raho Munna Bhai...